Advise exploration of Howard Sherman's columns/blogs at Arts Integrity. He has addressed this topic on several occasions. Link:
H Sherman @ Arts Integrity
Mr. Sherman has also posted on this Forum; search his name to read past discussions.
Examples on this topic that I recall making headlines (Google) include SSDC and The Caldwell Theatre in Boca Raton, FL re their production of
Love! Valour! Compassion! Another involving The Coconut Grove Theatre (Miami) production of a Sondheim revue (though I don't recall which one - guessing
Side by Side by Sondheim). There was a theater, IIRC, in Providence that added a preamble to
Annie...or maybe changed the ending. Don't recall specifics.
Another case involving SSDC regarding a production of
Urinetown in Ohio, IIRC. Again, don't recall specifics.
When
RENT was first released I remember reading about a production overseas...in The Netherlands or Denmark, maybe...where they tried to change the ending and Mimi lived.
SNL did a sketch recently (Tina Fey hosting?) about a production of
RENT where the characters had diabetes instead of HIV and IIRC that may have been based on an actual sanitized production somewhere.
Several productions, over the years, of
The Breakfast Club although rights for same have never been made available.
There was a bookstore (?) that was going to have a read-through of the new Harry Potter play when it was recently published that was shut down. Maybe in Wash, DC?
There have been several instances of parody productions that were challenged. One was a play called
3C that was a parody of the television show
Three's Company. The authors took that one to court and eventually won.
More recently, a similar situation (parody) with the authors of
Who's Holiday who received a cease & desist and delayed production until this past winter.
In the play
Hand to God, the Broadway producers were sued over the use/inclusion of the comedy routine "Who's On First" but the producers eventually prevailed.
------------------------------
Michael McDonough
TRW Director of Amateur Licensing
New York
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 06-13-2018 14:36
From: John Friedenberg
Subject: Playwrights, Designers, Directors & Intellectual Property rights (& disputes)
Crowd sourcing from the best source I know...I'm creating a class that explores intellectual property & the Arts (I'm taking the theatre area up at the moment, a colleague is focused on visual arts) and would LOVE folks to send me their favorite (or most extreme, outrageous, etc) examples of issues and disputes in this area.
Examples:
-Beckett's End Game and the A.R.T. JoAnne Akalaitis' production;
-Selective cutting of John Cariani's 'Falling' scene in Almost Maine;
-Jonathan Price as The Engineer in Miss Saigon;
-Angels in America in Charlotte NC;
but also examples closer to home such as casting in HS and community theatre productions, ripoffs of B'way designs, choreography, changing language or stage directions to meet community standards, etc. (Yes, I'll include "Rise")
I would also appreciate examples where you requested and were granted permission for changes and the argument/rationale for those.
I would love to hear from those on both sides of the issue and on any aspect of the topic, and would be happy to hear from you privately if you prefer.
Thank you in advance and May your summer move at the ideal pace while you optimize your work/life balance!
-Jerf
--
--- John E. R. Friedenberg * Director of Theatre * Department of Theatre & Dance * Wake Forest University |
336-416-3142 m * 336-758-5995 vm * 336-758-5294 office |
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