B'way could lose $135M this holiday season

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Broadway could suffer a $135 million loss this holiday season due to a New York stagehand strike that has darkened the Great White Way for 10 days.

Last year, ticket sales brought in $134.4 million from Thanksgiving to Christmas, with $23 million generated during Thanksgiving week alone, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday. This year, most Broadway shows have been canceled at least through Nov. 25.

City Controller William Thompson said the strike is costing New York City about $2 million in lost revenue each day.

"It's not good for the city," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday, adding that it isn't just the loss of money that concerns him.

"I think what hurts more is our reputation," he said. "It's the psychic things rather than the dollars."

The stagehand walkout could also mean the end for at least two shows whose sales were sluggish -- "Rent" and "The Drowsy Chaperone" -- and for "The Seafarer," a new drama that was scheduled to open last week, the Daily News said.