Theater musicians announced a tentative agreement after actors and stage managers reached a similar deal.

Broadway narrowly avoids strike with hours to spare: 'United in solidarity'

<p>Theater musicians announced a tentative agreement after actors and stage managers reached a similar deal.</p>

<p>Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul's Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.</p>

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<p>and Maureen Lee Lenker</p>

<p>Maureen Lee Lenker</p>

<p>Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at ** with over nine years of experience. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, and more.</p>

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<p>October 23, 2025 9:41 a.m. ET</p>

<p>Broadway theaters in Times Square. Credit:</p>

<p>- Broadway professionals will not go on strike following a new development.</p>

<p>- Musicians reached a tentative agreement with the Broadway League, hours before a strike.</p>

<p>- The move followed a similar agreement made by actors and stage managers.</p>

<p>The curtain isn't closing on Broadway work, as musicians have reached a new tentative agreement with the Broadway League to avoid a strike in the premier theater industry with hours left to spare.</p>

<p>Days after Broadway actors and stage managers reached a similar agreement, the musicians followed suit on Thursday, with the Local 802 union announcing that a deal was reached at 4:30 a.m. — following a reported 18-hour bargaining session — with members "united in solidarity" just before the strike was set to begin.</p>

<p>"This three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to healthcare for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway," said the group's president, Bob Suttmann, in a press statement obtained by **.</p>

<p>This comes five days after the Broadway League reached another contract agreement with the Actors' Equity Association representing stage actors and managers in the industry. According to the New York Times, that deal included 3 percent salary increases during each year of a three-year contract, alongside increases in the health fund. All the tentative agreements still need to be ratified by union members.</p>

<p>The cast of 'Dead Outlaw'.</p>

<p>The musicians' contract expired on Aug. 31. The three-year Equity contract expired on Sept. 28, and the union and the Broadway League have been in negotiations since Aug. 25, and have worked without a contract since Aug. 31.</p>

<p>Many prominent actors, including Maybe Happy Ending's star Darren Criss, SAG-AFTRA president Sean Astin, *Hamilton *star Phillipa Soo, Equity president Brooke Shields, and Queen frontman Adam Lambert earlier signed an open letter in solidarity with the union. The letter boasted more than 1,000 signatures from Broadway performers. Other prominent signees include LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Adrienne Warren, Victoria Clark, and Annaleigh Ashford, Taran Killam, as well as Emmy winners Cristin Milioti and Tatiana Maslany.</p>

<p>The letter outlined core proposals that the union is seeking in a new contract, which include a "pivot toward humane scheduling, including providing appropriate paid time off, to keep everyone in the best shape possible to do the work," that producers "pay your fair share toward our health insurance," and that producers "reasonably and safely staff our workplaces to foster safety and prevent emergencies.**</p>

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<p>It also called on producers, who are coming off the highest-grossing Broadway season on record, to meet Equity's demands and support common sense changes.</p>

<p>"We call on you to meet this moment, to truly listen to your workers, and to join us in building an agreement that reflects respect, dignity, and care," it reads. "We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow Equity stage managers, actors, and staff at the bargaining table. We are united, we are resolute, and we know Broadway is stronger when its workers are protected, supported, and heard."</p>

<p>The strike would've marked the first from Actors' Equity since 1968, and also would've shut down Broadway for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic dimmed the lights for more than a year. It also would've mark the third strike to close down Broadway in the 21st century. The musicians' union went on strike in 2003, leading most Broadway shows to close for multiple days, and in 2008, an IATSE strike disrupted productions for a total of 19 days.</p>

<p>Broadway theaters.</p>

<p>In response to strike pressure from Actors' Equity, the Broadway League shared a prior statement with EW, writing, "We always prefer to negotiate with our union partners at the bargaining table rather than in the press. We look forward to reaching a fair agreement through good faith negotiations that benefits both sides and sustains Broadway as a destination for millions of people from around the world."</p>

<p>Sign up for 's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.** Actors' Equity represents all performers and stage managers, as well as much of the staff who work on Broadway shows. They also represent those who perform on various national Equity tours and at Equity houses around the country. Many actors in the union also belong to SAG-AFTRA, which represents on-screen performers. SAG-AFTRA was on strike for 118 days in 2023, grinding Hollywood to a halt. Equity stood in solidarity with SAG-AFTRA, though Equity members were still able to perform onstage throughout the duration of the strike**</p>

<p>Representatives for Actors' Equity did not immediately respond to EW's request for comment.****</p>

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