Broadway shows back in the spotlight after 19 days

NEW YORK – Theatergoers lined up for tickets Thursday as Broadway returned to business following a crippling 19-day strike that cost producers and the city millions of dollars.\nTickets sold at a discounted $26.50 as people lined up for the musical “Chicago.”\n“I never thought I’d have the opportunity to see a Broadway show! And the price is right,” said Susie Biamonte as she waited for tickets. The play was re-opening with a new cast – Aida Turturro and Vincent Pastore of “Sopranos” fame.\nThe stagehands and theater producers reached a tentative agreement late Wednesday, ending a strike that kept more than two dozen shows dark for nearly three weeks. The strike took an economic bite out of New York, with businesses like restaurants, stores, hotels – even hot dog vendors – losing an estimated $2 million \na day.\nBut Biamonte and her friends from Canada said they’d help fix the damage during their weekend in \nthe city.\n“We’re going to make sure they’ll be successful again, because we’ll leave money behind,” Rosemary Girardo said as the “Chicago” line \nmoved ahead.\nThe settlement came Wednesday night, the third day of marathon sessions between Local 1 and the League of American Theatres and Producers to end the lengthy work stoppage that has cost producers and the city millions \nof dollars.\nMost plays and musicals that were shut during the walkout, which began Nov. 10, were expected to be up and running Thursday evening.\n“The contract is a good compromise that serves our industry,” said Charlotte St. Martin, the league’s executive director. “What is most important is that Broadway’s lights will once again shine brightly, with a diversity of productions that will delight all theatergoers during this holiday time.”\nUnion President James J. Claffey Jr. was equally effusive in signing off on the agreement, saying, “The people of Broadway are looking forward to returning to work, giving the theatergoing public the joy of Broadway, the greatest entertainment in \nthe world.”\nDetails of the five-year contract, which must be approved by the union membership, were not disclosed.\nThe end of the walkout means a scramble for new opening nights for several shows that were in previews when the strike hit. They include Aaron Sorkin’s “The Farnsworth Invention,” “August: Osage County” from Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company and an adaptation of a long-lost Mark Twain comedy, “Is He Dead?”\nDisney’s “The Little Mermaid” already has announced it would push back its scheduled Dec. 6 opening – with a new date still to be set.\n“We are so excited,” Tituss Burgess, who portrays Sebastian the crab in the lavish musical, told New York 1 TV. The actor said he hadn’t anticipated the strike would last as long as it did.\n“We hope everyone’s satisfied ... the atmosphere around our stage door was: We tried to remain positive,” Burgess added. “We’re just happy to be going back to work.”\nBroadway’s last strike occurred in 2003 when musicians staged a four-day walkout. The musicians also struck in 1975, shutting down musicals but not plays for 25 days.