Although the contract covering musicians performing in Broadway theatres is not due to expire until March, and negotiations for a new contract will not begin for another month, producers are already preparing for a showdown that may result in a strike. The major issue in the negotiations will likely be contract-determined, theatre-by-theatre minimum staffing levels that producers and theatre owners represented by the League of American Theaters and Producers have long criticized as forcing them to pay for larger orchestras than they need. In a move that Local 802 of the American Federation of Musicians has decried as preparation for blatant union-busting, the league has begun contacting providers of so-called virtual orchestras---complex recording playback systems that mimic the flexibility and full sound of live orchestras---in anticipation of a strike.