Broadway Might Go Dark

Broadway is on the verge of being shut down due to a strike, according to The New York Times.

After two and a half months of sometimes contentious contract negotiations, the organization representing most of Broadway's producers and theater owners and the union representing stagehands are at an impasse, bringing most of Broadway to the

At 7 p.m. yesterday, the League of American Theaters and Producers put what it called its final offer on the table; three hours later, Local One, the stagehands' union, gave the league a final offer in response.

In a statement, Charlotte St. Martin, the executive director of the league, said the response "made no progress on any of the issues we have identified as crucial to these negotiations. In fact, the union's offer has made the situation worse for all productions."

The announcement of a final offer is one of the last steps before a bargaining group can call a work stoppage, which, in this case, would mean the theater owners' locking out the stagehands and leaving most Broadway theaters dark. As of now, there are no more negotiating sessions scheduled, and a lockout is highly likely.