BroadwayWorld Strike Coverage: On the Street (Updated)

The range of opinions on the strike from affected tourists, Broadway actors and crew, and New Yorkers ranged from disappointed, to understanding, to angry, to humorous. Here's a brief sampling of what BroadwayWorld.com heard on the street (with more to come). 

THE CASTS AND CREW

Moses, a musician from Wicked- "It's a drag and it's terrible for the kids and for all out-of-towners that come in. You get to town, you get the hotel and you can't believe that the show is closed. The union's been in existence for 125 years, it's the oldest union on Broadway. I said to the guys - you've never had a strike! The actors had and the musicians have, but they haven't until now. There's been warnings about it to the general public, but no real warnings. I think that they're doing what they have to do, but am disappointed about the whole situation."

Cast member of The Lion King - "It's our 10th Anniversary, and I'm upset about that. We were rehearsing a long time, and cleaning and preparing. It's just kind of disappointing that our show is not going to happen..."

Cast member of The Lion King - "Truth be told, it's a hard call. You have to understand the producers' side and the stagehands' side. These are the guys who are there for us. You have to be on their side on some level. But I also understand that the producers are the ones going back and forth. But let's think about the people who are coming into the city to see a show, and they won't get a chance to. That's the sad part. They've been talking about the strike for a long time. Now that it's on, let's get it over with."

Deidre Goodwin of A Chorus Line - "It's bigger than just this one contract. I think it's important for the future of theatre in-general. There's bigger issues. We don't know the full things everyone is negotiating for and we just want to support them and hope that it gets resolved soon so we can all go back to work and do what we love doing."

Natalie Cortez of A Chorus Line - "We're just going to be here every half-hour and hope that something happens; somebody starts talking. I really feel they waited as long as they possibly could. These are really responsible workers and we love them, they take care of us very well, and they would never do something like this haphazardly. They have very good reasons to do this."

Mary Faber of Avenue Q - "We're here showing solidarity with our union brothers and sisters. We'll be here. We'll be here every day. I hope it gets resolved soon. Nobody wants to be out here in the cold! Nobody wants to see the kids sad and walking away."

Evan Harrington of Avenue Q - "This is a historic event. Unfortunately it had to come to this, but these sides need to eventually see eye-to-eye and it seems like this might be the only way to get it done. But we have to stick with each other, you know? We're here until it gets resolved. The greatest thing about New York City is Broadway, and it's a shame that so many shows have to be dark today. And hopefully, only today."

Debra Monk of Curtains - "We're just here for support!"

Seth Rudetsky of The Ritz - "It was great as a performer because both shows were totally sold out, but as a member of the Broadway community I felt sadness for all the people working on the shows that were dark."

Local One Union member - "We can't talk to nobody... Find a union captain."

THE TOURISTS

Danielle from Buffalo - "Seeing as this was going to be my first Broadway show, I'm really pissed off. Now we're going to stand in this long line to try to find another play to watch. Or go shop and spend money on stuff we weren't going to spend money on. And cry."

Katie from Florida - "It's really depressing because we flew all the way up here to see Legally Blonde. We saw The Rockettes this morning then we came here and got really sad when we heard it got canceled. I've seen it before and I wanted to take the rest of my family to go see it."

Georgie of Pennsylvania - "I love Grease and the show must go on!"

Ted from Michigan- "I traveled a thousand miles to go to The Lion King. I hope that they all starve."

Lori from Philadelphia- "We had tickets for Legally Blonde. We're from a bus tour and the rest of our group is now shopping on Canal St."

Steve from Boston- "My kids were really disappointed until they learned that McDonalds wasn't on strike!"

Brent of Canada - "They've got a right to strike. There's enough to do that we can find something else."

Steve of Connecticut- "I had tickets for Wicked today. We just heard about the strike now as we walked into the theatre, which was the most troubling aspect of it. A friend of ours bought these tickets a long time ago and offered us the seats. I don't think we'll be coming to the show again, because my kids (who are 11 and 9) are very disappointed."

Marie of Pennsylvania - "They have a right to strike, but to decide three hours before a show when you're traveling from two-hours away, it's not right."

Lindsay of Brooklyn - "It's really sad that so many tourists have come such a long way to see the best trait of New York... our shows... and now they can't see it. It seems like a lose-lose for everyone. We're losing money and the people are losing the entertainment."

Andrew of California - "It's unfortunate that the people behind-the-scenes aren't being appreciated as much as they should."

Murphy of Wisconsin - "This is frustrating for me. It's frustrating for my friends. But I'm sure it's doubly frustrating for New York. Broadway is the heart-and-soul of this city! The sooner both sides find a resolution, the sooner this town can do what it does best."

Stay tuned for more strike coverage on BroadwayWorld.com as it becomes available.

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