Strike Darkens Broadway

The long-feared strike by Broadway's stagehands union began today, darkening 26 theatres on the Great White Way. The first show to be affected was the 11am matinee of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas! - The Musical, with local news carrying footage of hundreds of disappointed children.

Broadway shows that will be dark until further notice:

August: Osage County at the Imperial Theatre
Avenue Q at the Golden Theatre
A Bronx Tale at the Walter Kerr Theatre
Chicago at the Ambassador Theatre
A Chorus Line at the Schoenfeld Theatre
The Color Purple at the Broadway Theatre
Curtains at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre
Cyrano de Bergerac at the Richard Rodgers Theatre
Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the St. James Theatre
The Drowsy Chaperone at the Marquis Theatre
Duran Duran at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
The Farnsworth Invention at the Music Box Theatre
Grease at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Hairspray at the Neil Simon Theatre
Is He Dead? at the Lyceum Theatre
Jersey Boys at the August Wilson Theatre
Legally Blonde at the Palace Theatre
Les Miserables at the Broadhurst Theatre
The Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre
The Little Mermaid at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Mamma Mia! at the Winter Garden Theatre
Monty Python's Spamalot at the Shubert Theatre
The Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre
Rent at the Nederlander Theatre
Rock 'n' Roll at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
The Seafarer at the Booth Theatre
Spring Awakening at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre

Eight non-profit and independently-owned theatres are running shows not affected by the strike: Young Frankenstein, Mary Poppins, The Ritz, Cymbeline, Pygmalion, Xanadu, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Mauritiu. All of the Off-Broadway houses remain open. The Christmas Spectacular At Radio City is also unaffected.

No new negotiations are currently scheduled, so the outlook for a rapid resolution to the strike is dim. Ticket holders for closed shows will have their credit cards reimbursed within 2-10 business days of the date of their performance, depending on which ticket vendor was used. Tickets purchased with cash must be refunded at the box office.

Today's strike comes at the height of Broadway's holiday buying season and may particularly damage the shows opening this week, some of which would have depended on strong word-of-mouth to garner sales. In the meantime, Off-Broadway shows will benefit. Check out the 47 Off-Broadway shows here.