Here’s the article that I’ve been looking for:
Bloodbath on Broadway: The credit crunch hits
With the closing of 5 of Broadway’s biggest shows – Hairspray, Legally Blonde, Spamalot, Xanadu and Spring Awakening – it’s starting to look increasingly grim for Broadway pits. According to the article Broadway ticket sales are down from $750,000 at this time last year to $350,000 this year.
Three shows that were scheduled to open this year have been postponed indefinitely – the revival of Godspell, the revival of For Colored Girls and Harry Connick’s show Nice Work If You Can Get It.
Several show have also been pulled off London’s Broadway equivalent, the West End, as the economic crisis has spread overseas.
The closing of shows will obvious put the musicians associated with it out of work. But perhaps worse, as the end of this article suggests, Broadway producers are starting to hint at the need to renegotiate contracts with Broadway labor unions.
David J. Hahn
David J. Hahn is a Broadway conductor and keyboard player. He co-founded MusicianWages.com with Cameron Mizell in 2008. Visit his new project, Songwriter.fm and sign up for his songwriting newsletter.
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