The show will go on. Broadway musicians have reached a tentative contract agreement to avoid what could’ve been a costly strike.
The Broadway League and Musicians Local 802 announced the deal early Thursday morning, as the strike deadline approached.
The potential strike could have shut down nearly two dozen Broadway musicals.
Where things stand with the Broadway strike negotiations
Musicians have been working without a contract since Sept. 1. The union said 98% of its members had voted to authorize a strike — demanding higher pay, stable health coverage and increased job security.
“United in solidarity, Local 802 Broadway musicians are thrilled to announce that we reached a tentative agreement at 4:30 am with the Broadway League that will avert a strike scheduled to begin later today,” Musicians Local 802 said in a statement Thursday. “This three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway.”
The Broadway League said Wednesday, “We value our musicians and we are committed to working in good faith to get a fair contract done.”
The league recently struck another tentative deal with Actor’s Equity, the union representing actors and stage managers, with the help of a mediator.
Broadway strike could have lasting impacts, senators warned
On Wednesday, several U.S. senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York, and Cory Booker, of New Jersey, sent letters to the union and the Broadway League, urging both parties to come to an agreement. They wrote that with Broadway only beginning to recover from the pandemic, a strike would have devastating and lasting impacts on its revival.
The last Broadway strike was in 2007 and involved the stagehands union. It lasted for 19 days, costing the city and show producers millions of dollars in lost revenue.
List of Broadway shows potentially impacted by the strike
The following 23 productions could have been affected by the musicians strike:
“& Juliet” (Sondheim)”Aladdin” (New Amsterdam)”Beetlejuice” (Palace)”Book of Mormon” (O’Neill)”Buena Vista Social Club” (Schoenfeld)”Chess” (Imperial)”Chicago” (Ambassador)”Death Becomes Her” (Lunt Fontanne)”The Great Gatsby” (Broadway)”Hadestown” (Kerr)”Hamilton” (Rodgers)”Hells Kitchen” (Shubert)”Just in Time” (Circle in the Square)”Lion King” (Minskoff)”Mamma Mia” (Winter Garden)”Maybe Happy Ending” (Belasco)”Operation Mincemeat” (Golden)”MJ” (Neil Simon)”Moulin Rouge” (Hirshfeld)”Outsiders” (Jacobs)”Queen of Versailles” (St. James)”Six” (Lena Horne)”Wicked” (Gershwin)
Check back soon for updates on this developing story.