The curtain has come down on Broadway's plays and musicals after a stagehand strike that threatens to drag on into the Christmas season, disappointing thousands of tourists and costing New York millions in lost revenue.

The strike, which entered its third day today with no resolution in sight, has closed 27 shows, including The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Mamma Mia!, Wicked and Dr Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which opened the morning the strike began.

The stoppage pits the largest stagehands' union, Local One, against the League of American Theaters and Producers. They have been in fruitless negotiations for three months since contracts expired in July.

It also comes as writers in Hollywood continue their week-long strike, which has greatly disrupted television schedules and forced many networks to air re-runs and postpone new series.

The Broadway producers are balking at stagehand hiring quotas. They say that it forces them to hire workers even when they are not needed. Charlotte St Martin, a spokeswoman, said that the union wanted to protect “wasteful, costly and indefensible rules that are embedded like dead weights in contracts”.

At a news conference, James J. Claffey, Local One's president, said the union had to make “respectful” counter offers. “If there's no respect, they will not see Local One at the table.”

The two seemed far from a deal today. At picket lines in Times Square, actors, musicians and other Broadway workers, including wardrobe specialists and ushers, turned out in support of the stagehands, who have never gone on strike in their 100-year history.

The last time the lights went out on Broadway was four years ago, when its musicians went on strike. That strike ended after four days. The producers league says this strike will cost New York $17 million (£8.3 million) a day.

Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York, said that he had offered a mediator and neutral venue for continued talks, as he did during the musicians' strike. But Mr Claffey said that he had declined the offer.

“We are being attacked,” Mr Claffey said. “We're fighting for our lives.” He said he particularly resented accusations by the producers' league that his union was “featherbedding” its members by demanding work for stagehands that were not required.

“This lack of respect is something we are not going to deal with.”

Ms St Martin retorted: “The union wants you to believe they are the victims, the little guys.”

The strike has hit Broadway as its busiest time of year, with the Thanksgiving holiday this month followed by the run-up to Christmas and the new year.

Eight shows, which are not affected by union rules, remain open. They include Mary Poppins, Young Frankenstein, Pygmalion and Cymbeline.

No new negotiations have been scheduled between the union and the producers, and resumption of talks appears uncertain. Today the effects of the strike have been clear: restaurants in the theatre district were only half full, and Times Square, usually full on Veterans' Day weekend, was uncrowded.

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