Costs and tempers rise; negotiations hit standstill in walkout

NEW YORK -- Tempers were rising and so were the costs, but negotiations were at a standstill Sunday in the effort to end a walkout that shut down 18 of the 19 musicals on Broadway.

Everyone was looking toward today, and the hope that talks would resume between the League of American Theatres and Producers and Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians. By Sunday afternoon, after two dark nights at the theaters, neither side had made the first move.

"We are sitting by the phone (waiting)," said league president Jed Bernstein. "It's very difficult to engage in a negotiation when you don't have a negotiating partner ... somebody who wants to bargain toward a compromise."

Bill Dennison, a top union official, said Local 802 has not had any contact with the league since Friday evening.

"They handed us a proposal -- typed very clearly at the top 'final proposal' -- and left the building," Dennison said Sunday. "There have been no talks since then."

'Save live music'

Outside the theaters, the strike scene is becoming increasingly familiar. Musicians picketed and passed out leaflets urging people to "save live music on Broadway," while disappointed theatergoers exchanged tickets for later dates or refunds. Stagehands and performers were honoring the picket lines.

Producers, meanwhile, glumly tallied the financial damage.

Shutting down the 18 shows has cost about $1.2 million per performance in terms of lost box-office revenue, or nearly $5 million for all four performances over the weekend, according to Bernstein. The city's tourism office estimated weekend losses for ancillary businesses, such as restaurants, hotels and taxis, at more than $7 million.

The one Broadway musical still open Sunday was "Cabaret," which is covered under a different contract. The show, now starring Deborah Gibson and Neil Patrick Harris, sold out throughout the weekend as people lined up for cancellations. The walkout also did not affect the dramatic plays on Broadway or off-Broadway plays and musicals.

Sixth compromise offer

The league proposal, which Bernstein says was its sixth compromise offer, deals with the difficult problem of minimums, how many musicians are required for a Broadway orchestra. That figure is set by the size of the theater, with the largest houses currently requiring 24 to 26 musicians.

During initial negotiations, the producers demanded no minimums, then offered seven, raised it to 14 and, on Friday, to 15 for the biggest theaters.

The union refused the proposal. "That would cut the larger Broadway orchestras nearly in half," Dennison said.