Curtain call! Broadway averts shutdown with tentative union deal

July 20, 2023

The show must go on.

The risk of Broadway going dark because of a strike was averted Thursday after a union representing stage employees inked a tentative deal, the feuding factions announced.

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the union repping stagehands and backstage workers, issued a joint statement with The Broadway League and Disney Theatrical, the two groups representing management, saying the lights will remain on along “The Great White Way.”

The tentative deal, known as the “Pink Contract,” will need to be ratified by the union next.

“The respective parties will inform their members of the details of this agreement in the coming days,” the release said.

Details of the deal were not provided.

A strike would have brought the curtain down on 28 Broadway shows and 17 touring companies across the United States and Canada.

Broadway averted a crisis Thursday after IATSE inked a tentative deal with management, ending a potential strike.

IATSE, which represents 1,500 stagehands and other behind-the-scenes workers, said Wednesday that they were planning to vote on a strike on Thursday.

Ahead of the labor vote, IATSE rallied the troops via email, demanding fair compensation.

“We need to show strength and unity to ensure we win the wages, benefits, and rights that all members at IATSE have earned and deserve,” said an email obtained by CNN, which was sent to union members urging them to vote to authorize the strike.

A strike would have been a major blow for New York City, which relies on tourism.

The tentative Broadway deal comes as 160,000 actors represented by union SAG-AFTRA, as well as 11,000 writers repped by the Writers Guild of America, are already on strike against major film studios and streaming services, shutting down most TV and movie production across the country.

A Broadway strike would have been a major blow to the Big Apple’s economy, which has been weakened by the shift to working from home amid the pandemic.

Like most businesses, Broadway also took a hit from the pandemic, shutting down in 2020, only to reopen a year later to low attendance.

Theatergoers have been slowly returning to Broadway after the pandemic crushed its business.

Theatergoers have flocked back to near-pre-pandemic levels. For the season that concluded in May, theaters posted total attendance of 12.3 million and grossed $1.6 billion in ticket sales, according to the Broadway League.

Prior to the pandemic, in the 2018-2019 season, total attendance reached 14.8 million, and shows raked in $1.8 billion, the Broadway League said.