Strike Goes On, And So Do Broadway Shows

By Andrew Gans
December 21, 2005

On the second day of the transit strike, Broadway productions will continue to play their regular performance schedules.

Alan Cohen, Director of Communications of the League of American Theatres and Producers, told Playbill.com Dec. 21 that attendance for shows on Dec. 20 — the first day of the strike — “was pretty good overall with relatively low returns. There was good walk-up traffic, and there were no cast or crew problems. Shows took good care of their people, accommodating them with car and shuttle bus service.

“Most of the shows,” Cohen continued, “reported pretty brisk business. There was only a two to three percent ‘no-show’ rate, which is only up about one percent for a Tuesday night.”

Cohen did say that the call volume for those interested in exchanging tickets for a different date has increased today. He also encouraged those looking to see usually sold-out shows to try to do so during the strike.

“All shows are going on as scheduled,” Cohen said, adding, “The next two weeks are big for Broadway, so we hope the impact [of the strike] will be relatively small.”