All for one and one for all And God be with us all.
Singing this plaintively courageous hymn, members of Equity, the fledgling actors' union, walked off their stages 41 years ago, spearheaded by Marie Dressier and Ethel Barrymore, and paraded through a blacked-out Broadway. Their demand: the right to bargain collectively with their producers. The producers capitulated after 30 days, during which New Yorkers consoled themselves with flicks, pickup vaudeville and impromptu sidewalk skirmishes. Last week, once again, Broadway theaters were deserted, and Shubert Alley was so dark that one could...