The Broadway musicians went out on strike this morning. The full extent of the strike won't be known until tonight and whether other unions cross the picket line. Last strike in the 1970's went on for weeks and closed many productions.

*personal opinion here*

Like NYC needs something like this now!

However, the two sides are still talking/negotiating.

Just saw on the news that the actors and stagehands have decided not to cross the musician's picket lines at 15 Broadway musicals that use live music. That means that tonight's musicals will not go on. For plays that don't use live music, the actors and stagehands will make individual decisions about each show. I hope this doesn't last for long. I guess anyone planning to travel to NYC to see a Broadway show in the near future should keep checking to see what the status is.

Thank god! We'll be spared of awful musicals for awhile. Really, despite the benefits to the city, most of what's on Broadway is overacted, overproduced crap.

So, other than the initial post, any guesses as to how long this might last (we travel to NYC in 2 weeks; tix to 3 plays, all musicals).

Yeah, I go Sunday and REALLY wanted to see Hairspray (Tuesday) and The Producers (Wednesday). ARG! Is there any hope, in your opinion?

Is there any chance of a resolution by Monday? I can't find much coverage of this story and really need to know what is going on.

My personal opinion is that this strike will drag on for weeks. Neither side seems to be budging. Unfortunately neither seems to care that they are hurting the NYC economy: restaurants, hotels, taxis, etc.

The latest coverage on this evening's local news in NYC is that the producers are offering a minimum of 15 musicians per show while the musician's union is still asking for a minimum of 26. Since they are still pretty far apart on this issue, I would not hold out much hope that this will be settled in a couple of days. It really is too bad. Not only are the theaters closed, but the restaurants in the area are nearly empty now too. This is really something that the city doesn't need right now.

We're from the Chicago area and going to NYC in 2 weeks. THE DRUDGE REPORT website has links to New York newspapers on the lower left hand side. They're a good way to stay on top of the news regarding the musicians' strike. Good luck.