"You'll be swell, you'll be great.
Gonna have the whole world on a plate.
Startin' here, startin now',
Honey, everything's coming up roses."
-Ethel Merman, "Everything's Coming Up Roses"

The late Ethel Merman, the First Lady of Broadway, would be proud.

Broadway theater owner/producers and the stagehands' union have reached a tentative agreement, ending a costly, 19-day strike which had kept more than two dozen shows dark in the most-represented, live, dramatic performance district in the world. Details of the tentative contract were not disclosed, The Associated Press reported.

There's bad news and good news on the Broadway strike front.

First the bad news: Unless there's a sudden change in the negotiating stance by the League of American Theatres and Producers or the striking Local 1 of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the strike is not likely to be resolved for at least another two weeks, possibly three weeks, industry analysts estimate, and The Associated Press reported. (The strike has shut down more than 24 Broadway plays and musicals since November 10.)

The reason? Two weeks is the length of time it would probably take to exhaust both the owners'/producers' patience regarding losses and the unions' $4.1 million contingency fund. Of course, each strike/job action is unique, but if historical precedent is any indicator, labor and management begin to get serious about resolving a strike when each begins to incur unacceptable losses, Reuters reported.

Now the good news: Strike talks resumed Sunday, and with any luck the neon lights may be back on "On Broadway" in time for the pivotal Holiday/New Year's period. A settlement by that is pivotal because, historically, Broadway's biggest revenue week is December 26 - Jan. 6 -- the period from Christmas through just after New Year's Day, a vacation period when tourists from college students to senior citizens flock to the city. If the strike wipes out Christmas/New Year's week revenue, every Broadway show will suffer large losses, and some shows, including some with inadequate advance sales, may be forced to end their runs.