By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON of the New York Times
Published: November 27, 2007
The stagehands’ union and the league representing Broadway’s theater owners and producers resumed talks last night after a 12-hour break from a marathon session the day and night before.
As of 8:30 p.m., the two sides were still in negotiations at the Proskauer Rose law offices on 48th Street and Broadway. The firm represents the league.
The talks that began midmorning Sunday were the first by the two sides in a week. The session lasted nearly 20 hours, ending at daybreak. For some, that was a promising sign that an end was in sight to the 17-day stagehands’ strike, which has darkened most of Broadway.
But people involved in the talks said that while progress was being made, it was slow and incremental.
The two sides have come to an agreement on the rules that apply to the load-in, the costly and often lengthy period when productions are moved into theaters. But they are still bargaining over the rules governing rehearsals and other kinds of work calls for productions that are up and running. Wage increases, usually one of the final issues in a labor negotiation, have yet to be seriously discussed, people involved in the talks said.
The strike has cost the city $2 million a day in lost revenues, according to estimates by the city comptroller’s office, though the league says the figure is much higher. Twenty-six shows have been left dark.
Another, “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical,” reopened on Friday after a judge granted an injunction forcing the St. James Theater, where the show is playing, to let the show run.
Officials from the Jujamcyn theater chain, the owners of the St. James, appealed the decision and had initially sought to stay the injunction. But yesterday they told the producers of “The Grinch” that they would not seek a stay, and that the show could remain open for its entire scheduled run through the holidays.
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