Broadway musicians have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike as their union, along with another that represents stage managers and actors, negotiates a new contract with Broadway producers.

Broadway shows brought in more money than they ever had in the season that ended this spring. But at the same time, “the frank assessment of it is that everything costs more money these days,” said producer Heather Shields.

She said the cost of lumber is rising, so is the cost of trucking around materials and equipment shows need.

That said, “the vast majority of the money that is spent to get a show open and to run a show is going into the pockets of people, of humans, of workers,” she said. “We can't deny that that's a reality. We also can't deny that it's a reality that the cost of living is much higher and the cost of health care is much higher.”

And not every show can raise ticket prices to cover higher costs due to inflation, said Matthew Rousu, dean of the School of Business at Susquehanna University (and a big time Broadway fan.)

Bottom line?

“There's just simply less money to split between the groups, and that is probably why we're seeing the threat of a strike. When there's less to split, it's much tougher to come to an agreement,” he said.

The Actors’ Equity Association — that’s the actors and stage managers’ union — and the Broadway League, which is the producers’ trade group, are expected to continue talks on Friday.