The Show Won't Go On

“Hypothetically, if they go back tomorrow, we still have to wait a whole year again.”

For Gregory Pavlick and Maryann Sugar, their 52nd birthdays came with bright hopes dashed by darkened Broadway theaters.

Both stood disappointed on West 52nd Street after traveling to New York to celebrate, only to discover that 'Jersey Boys' and 'Hairspray' _ both playing on the same block _ were canceled Saturday by the Broadway stagehands strike. And it was going to take more than blown-out candles with birthday wishes to resurrect the Tony Award-winning smash shows.

Sugar and three co-workers from the Ohio Department of Health arrived outside the Neil Simon Theatre for the 'Hairspray' matinee after an all-night bus trip from Youngstown, Ohio. They hoped to see cast members Lance Bass and George Wendt; instead, there were only pickets standing behind police barricades. Read more