Will the Seafarer Ever Sail?

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Irish Voice News

Will the Seafarer Ever Sail?

November 23, 2007

By Cahir O’Doherty

THE future of The Seafarer, the Broadway-bound play by Irish playwright Conor McPherson, may now be in doubt after talks between the Broadway Producers League and the stagehands’ union unexpectedly broke down last week.

The play, which was in previews before the strike hit, stars Irish actors Jim Norton, Conleth Hill, Ciaran Hinds and Sean Mahon and was due to open on Thursday, November 15, but the opening night has now been postponed indefinitely.

Boneau/Bryan-Brown, the theatrical press agency that represents the show had no comment on the show’s future.

The continuing strike action is serious because last Thanksgiving brought in more than $23 million in ticket sales alone, revenue which will now be lost to the theatres and the surrounding Irish bars and restaurants who depend on the shows for the majority of their business.

Pat Burke, manager of the Pig and Whistle on West 47th Street, told the Irish Voice, “We’ve seen a sharp drop in customers after the strike hit. The only thing that is saving us somewhat is tourism, but Broadway is killing us. Thanksgiving is usually the second biggest week in the Broadway calendar and there’s just no business.

“There’s a lack of reservations and street traffic. You name it, we’re losing business.”

The strike is also a double blow for McPherson’s latest production because it’s a serious drama, not effervescent Broadway fare, and its retaining budget is likely to be considerably lower than the flashier shows on Broadway.

Billed as a “chilling new play about the sea, Ireland, and the power of myth,” The Seafarer completed a successful run at London’s National Theatre before making the eventual transfer to Broadway, where the stagehands strike has left its future uncertain.

Bruce Cohen, the public relations director for Local One, the stagehands union, told the Irish Voice, “In the case of The Seafarer both the producer and the theater owner are members of the League and they have participated in this contracted negotiation through their representative – and there’s a picket line out in front of them now because there’s still no contract.”

According to figures released this week by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, the city is losing an estimated $2 million per day because of the strike, due to the lost ticket sales and sparse restaurant attendance, hotel bills, taxi rides and souvenir purchases.

Acknowledging that local bars and restaurants are feeling the squeeze and the theaters are losing valuable revenue, Cohen believes a resolution is in sight: “There will be a next round of negotiations, there will be a contract settlement, and theater will get back. The problem is the producers just have to realize that there’s only so much money you can take back from working people before they say no,” he said.

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