Paper Mill, AFM in Harmony.

After a protracted battle that began to mirror the circumstances that brought Broadway musicians to the point of striking last spring, the Millburn, New Jersey-based Paper Mill Playhouse and Local 16 of the American Federation of Musicians have come to accord on a new two-year agreement. According to an article in the Newark, New Jersey "Star-Ledger," the president of Local 16, Les Blasi, called the new contract" acceptable," despite a wage freeze scheduled for the first year and an increase of just 6%, or slightly more than inflation, in the second year. The contract also calls for 22 playing weeks, the same as in the previous contract, which expired August 31, 2003.