The show will go on. Broadway musicians have reached a tentative contract agreement to avoid what could've been a costly strike.

The Broadway League and Musicians Local 802 announced the deal early Thursday morning, as the strike deadline approached.

A strike could have shut down nearly two dozen Broadway musicals. 

Broadway musicians reach deal on wages, health care

Musicians have been working without a contract since Sept. 1. The union said 98% of its members had voted to authorize a strike -- demanding higher pay, stable health coverage and increased job security.

"United in solidarity, Local 802 Broadway musicians are thrilled to announce that we reached a tentative agreement at 4:30 a.m. with the Broadway League that will avert a strike scheduled to begin later today," Musicians Local 802 said in a statement Thursday. "This three-year agreement provides meaningful wage and health benefit increases that will preserve crucial access to health care for our musicians while maintaining the strong contract protections that empower musicians to build a steady career on Broadway."

Musicians Local 802 Vice President Dan Point told CBS News New York he thinks many of the union's musicians will be happy with the new contract. 

"It was also important for them to maintain access to health care, because like workers in any industry, we face costs that are rising and outpacing inflation. So that was a really critical factor," Point said. "They will be just thrilled to stay at work."

Point said both sides worked with a mediator and realized what was at stake. The union will now present the tentative agreement to its membership for ratification.   

"Really recognized that we all had a vested interest in keeping the shows running, particularly coming up on the holiday season with tourism high and shows are packed," Point said.

The union will presents the deal to its members for ratification. CBS News New York is awaiting additional details and a statement from the Broadway League.

The Broadway League recently struck another tentative deal with Actor's Equity, the union representing actors and stage managers, also with the help of a mediator.

Potential strike could have lasting impacts, senators warned

The last Broadway strike was in 2007 and involved the stagehands union. It lasted for 19 days, costing the city and show producers millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The 2024-25 Broadway season took in a whopping $1.9 billion, setting an all-time record.

On Wednesday, several U.S. senators, including Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York, and Cory Booker and Andy Kim, of New Jersey, sent letters to the union and the Broadway League, urging both parties to come to an agreement. They wrote that with Broadway only beginning to recover from the pandemic, a strike would have devastating and lasting impacts on its revival. 

List of Broadway shows potentially impacted by strike

The following 23 productions could have been affected by the musicians strike: 

• "& Juliet" (Sondheim)
• "Aladdin" (New Amsterdam)
• "Beetlejuice" (Palace)
• "Book of Mormon" (O'Neill)
• "Buena Vista Social Club" (Schoenfeld)
• "Chess" (Imperial)
• "Chicago" (Ambassador)
• "Death Becomes Her" (Lunt Fontanne)
• "The Great Gatsby" (Broadway)
• "Hadestown" (Kerr)
• "Hamilton" (Rodgers)
• "Hells Kitchen" (Shubert)
• "Just in Time" (Circle in the Square)
• "Lion King" (Minskoff)
• "Mamma Mia" (Winter Garden)
• "Maybe Happy Ending" (Belasco)
• "Operation Mincemeat" (Golden)
• "MJ" (Neil Simon)
• "Moulin Rouge" (Hirshfeld)
• "Outsiders" (Jacobs)
• "Queen of Versailles" (St. James)
• "Six" (Lena Horne)
• "Wicked" (Gershwin)