The Broadway stagehands strike may be finally nearing its end as talks were adjourned at 6:30 a.m. Monday between the league representing the theater owners and producers and the union representing the stagehands, and set to resume at 6 p.m.

The IATSE's Local One in New York went ahead with their planned strike against the League of American Theatres and Producers as of 10 a.m. Saturday, on Nov. 10. The strike shut down some 27 Broadway theaters, with disappointed ticket holders arriving at theaters to find doors closed and picket lines manned outside.

Bruce Cohen, a spokesman for the union, said last night: "We are closer than we were twelve hours ago but not close enough to have a deal."

"There's a lot of hard bargaining and good-faith negotiations going on, and we're hoping at some point before the day breaks tomorrow there will be a settlement."

With many shows capable of earning 1 million dollars a day, the League estimates that the strike is costing 17 million dollars a day, not including the economic costs facing area restaurants and other businesses that rely on the theatre-going crowd.

The dispute has shut down 26 theatres, and kept them closed during the normally lucrative Thanksgiving week. Last year, Broadway pulled in around $42 million in grosses over Thanksgiving week and the week before.

The strike is Broadway's longest stoppage since the musicians' union struck for 25 days in 1975. That strike shut down just nine shows. The main point of contention between the sides involves work rules that govern the number of stagehands needed for each show. The previous agreement between the union and theatre owners expired at the end of July. The talks reached an impasse last month.

The current annual salary for stagehands allegedly ranges from $67,500 to $88,500, according to the union, which does not want to disclose what increases it seeks.