In December of 1999 I was playing “Cats” on Broadway, and it was going to close the next year. I’m not sure if I knew that in December. Probably not. I did know that New Year’s Eve of 1999 was supposed to be the biggest night in the club date business of all time, but it turned out to be a flop. Hardly anyone had parties and hired bands. Many jobs were canceled when participants did not show.
I knew that after “Cats” there was no guarantee that I would get more work. So at that time, if I knew better, I would have done a better job of saving money for the lack of work which indeed did follow. By 1999 it had become quite clear that the music business was shrinking at a precipitous rate, and that what had once been would no longer be. So in that regard, I was not surprised, and my behavior the whole time up to then was in preparation for what was in fact a depression in the music business from which we have never recovered.
Ethan Fein
Ethan Fein is an executive board member at Local 802, American Federation of Musicians. He played on Broadway for over 20 years, having performed in Cats (1982-2000), Bring Back Birdie (1981), West Side Story (1980), 42nd Street (both productions 1980 and 2001), and The Full Monty (1997).
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