Broadway Strike - Day Seven: The League and the Union resume negotiations tomorrow, Broadway anxiously awaits the outcome.

The League of American Theatres and Producers and Broadway's unionised stage hands, (members of Local one - part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) will begin negotiations tomorrow morning. The meeting has been arranged with the help of Disney Theatricals, who played a leading role in bringing both sides together.

The meeting will see Robert W. Johnson, a top labour relations executive from Disney, sitting with The League, and Thomas C. Short, the president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage, sitting with the Union. This is a hopeful sign that progress may be made at the meeting, since Disney Theatrical's is not a member of the League, and as good relations with both sides in the dispute.

Since their agreed joint statement on 14 Nov 2007 announcing further talks, both the League and the Union have made no further public comments, and those in the Broadway industry have themselves remained silent about the dispute and the upcoming talks.

A lot hangs in the balance for some shows, because if the strike continues into Thanksgiving week, then some may decide to announce close notices. It is already being rumoured that Dr Seuss, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas will not re-opening if the strike continues through to Thanksgiving, but now rumours are growing about other shows also.

Cyrano de Bergerac, Curtains, and The Drowsy Chaperone may all decide to close if the strike continues into next week - though this remains speculation as there have been no official statements. It was reported earlier this week that the producers of The Drowsy Chaperone have already decided to close the show, but when we asked a production person for the show, if this report was true, they vigorously denied it.

To sum up, the 27 Broadway shows currently dark because of the strike, will remain dark though to 18 Nov 2007. Whether the shows will remain dark after that date depends on how well the negotiations go over the weekend. The deafly silence from the theatre industry is a sure sign that there are a growing number of anxious producers worried about the long-term prospects for their shows.

Broadway Strike! - Day one
Broadway Strike! - Day two
Broadway Strike! - Day three
Broadway Strike! - Day four
Broadway Strike! - Day five
Broadway Strike! - Day six

Click here to find out which Broadway shows are playing, and which ones are not.