Plans by Broadway producers and theatre owners to replace striking musicians with what have alternately been called "virtual orchestras" and "canned music" hit an unexpected roadblock last Friday when actors and stagehands announced that they would honor the musicians' picket lines (see WIT for Mach 7, 2003). Coming only minutes apart and shortly before evening performances, the announcements by Actors Equity and Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees made the second Broadway musicians' strike in almost three decades a show-stopper. With the two sides still far apart on the key contract issue of minimum orchestral staffing levels and no new talks having occurred over the weekend, it is anyone's guess how long this strike will keep all but one of Broadway's shows closed ('Cabaret' is covered by a separate agreement).
See "Among Factions in Strike, Some Strutting and Fretting Backstage", ROBIN POGREBIN, The New York Times, March 9, 2003