A labor conflict between local musicians and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival officials was tentatively resolved late Thursday afternoon, just in time to avoid a possible strike that could have crippled or closed the event.

Musicians terminated last week by festival officials had threatened to picket the Sand Harbor event if they were not paid, a musicians' union spokesman said on Thursday. Band members and a conductor/composer, hired for the festival's production of the musical "Cambio," were fired after a dispute with New York music composer Omar Alexander.

Alexander had provided a CD but no written musical score for the production, according to Paul January, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Musicians, Local 368. John Shipley, president of the local union and a long-time musician, was hired by the festival to compose a musical arrangement from Alexander's CD. Shipley said that normally composers provide their own written musical scores.

Apparently unsatisfied by the musical score and/or the band's opening night performance, Alexander demanded the musicians be fired, January said. Alexander has since taken over the production's musical arrangement with non-union musicians flown in from New York and Los Angeles, again according to January.

"He's singing the songs," Shipley said. "Now it's the Omar Show."

Two of the band members received their final checks last week. Other checks supposedly mailed last week had not arrived as of Thursday, January said. The unpaid musicians are owed for one rehearsal and one performance and Shipley said he has not been paid for his musical score. The contract stated Shipley would be paid 50 percent of a specified amount before the first rehearsal with the other 50 percent before the first performance.

Under Nevada labor law, discharged employees must be paid immediately, Shipley said.

A collective bargaining agreement between the festival and musicians union had no termination clause, January said, and after firing the musicians, the festival's artistic director Jan Powell offered the musicians one day's pay as compensation. On Thursday, January reported that festival officials had offered the musicians a settlement of 50-percent payment for "unperformed performances."

"Please realize that all of the players (musicians) involved have more than 30 years of professional experience and collectively have played thousands of shows," January said in a press statement.

Shipley confirmed his musicians are some of the area's best professionals, holding union contracts with the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra and Tahoe Music Festival among others. This is the musician union's first contract with the Shakespeare Festival and could be its last, Shipley said.

According to Shipley, the festival is well-heeled and more than financially sound, pointing to money being spent to fly in and house out-of-state musicians.

"I didn't feel good about these people — that's why we had an iron-clad contract," said Shipley. "They (festival officials) have lied to us."

Festival artistic director Jan Powell and executive director Catherine Atack both said they would not comment on the reasons for the musicians' firings.

On Thursday, January anticipated that final paychecks would be ready for pick up at the festival's Incline Village office. Otherwise, union musicians were ready to picket the festival on Friday with the support of other unions, including the Actors Equity Association and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (I.A.T.S.E., otherwise known as the stagehands' union).

"They (festival officials) are kind of panicking," January said on Thursday. If the actors and stagehands refuse to cross the musicians' picket line, all performances at the festival would have stopped said January.

After meeting with January late Thursday, festival officials issued new payroll checks for the unpaid musicians. Atack said her organization had previously been negotiating with union officials this week and, on Thursday, made an offer for consideration by union officials.

"They haven't returned our calls all week," Shipley countered. "They only negotiated today."

Shipley said he wasn't sure if all musician fees and benefits had been paid or if he was satisfied with the Thursday's offer. Negotiations between the union and festival officials will continue, he said.

"I feel bad because the musicians were booked and gave up other jobs for this show," January said of the dispute. "Now they may only get paid half of what they expected."

(Comments on this issue were received Saturday from festival and union officials and were posted in letters-to-the-editor under Opinion)