NEW YORK (AP) — Broadway and the touring theater community seem to have avoided a labor disruption like the one that has silenced the film and television industry.
The Broadway League and Disney Theatrical Productions, which represent producers, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees announced Thursday they had reached a tentative agreement that had threatened a strike as early as Friday.
About 1,500 workers — stagehands, hair and makeup artists, and wardrobe personnel — are directly covered by the tentative agreement, currently working on 28 productions on Broadway and 17 on tour.
The agreement still needs to be ratified. In a joint statement, the bargainers said: “The respective parties will inform their members of the details of this agreement in the coming days.”
The agreement is unconnected to the strike action roiling Hollywood. Leaders of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) voted unanimously last week to start striking, joining the Writers Guild of America, who walked out on May 2.
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press