The work stoppage which started on Nov. 10 has shut down over two dozens of popular Broadway shows and kept the theater area dark even over the Thanksgiving weekend.

After 13 hours of negotiations overnight, the two sides have come to an agreement on the rules that apply to the load-in, the costly and often lengthy period when productions are moved into theaters.

But they were still bargaining over the rules governing rehearsals and other kinds of work calls for productions that are up and running.

The stagehands union represents 3,000 property persons, stage and studio electricians, set carpenters, sound designers, audio technicians, moving-light operators, riggers and special effects people in New York.

The city comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., estimated that the economic losses from the theater strike amounted to about US$2 million per day.

The estimate was based on survey data relating to Broadway ticket sales, the proportion of tickets sold to different market segments, and the total spending of those patrons on tickets, dining, shopping and other non-theater activities.

However, the comptroller's office warned that the strike losses could easily rise beyond US$2 million a day if the strike lasted longer than six weeks and began "to affect the vacation planning decisions of long-distance domestic and international tourists."