Chicago in the Bronx

[ceebeegee]

I've been reading some more about this production of Chicago in the Bronx--a high school was about to put it on without the rights, and Sam French (they manage the rights) and the Weisslers (producers of the current incarnation on Broadway) found out about the HS production and sent a cease-and-desist letter, shutting it down. This story first broke on Monday or Tuesday--the show was due to go up this week. There was some media coverage, and eventually Sam French said they could go ahead. I figured it was a fairly innocent case of kids not knowing any better. Apparently not--the drama teacher transcribed the dialogue? From the movie? What drama teacher doesn't know you have to secure the rights? And when confronted with the inconvenient reality that yes, you have to pay to perform this material, both the teacher and the principal tried to spin it as though Sam French and the Weisslers were being unreasonable. Again--drama teacher? And you're that ignorant? Then you shouldn't be teaching drama. I have nothing but contempt for a so-called educator who is ignorant of that BASIC reality in play production.

I certainly hope the "teacher" and the principal explained to the kids how they were solely at fault, and how gracious Sam French and the Weisslers were to let the production go on anyway.

Comments

[mollyx.livejournal.com]

Wait a minute.
Transcribed the dialogue from the movie?
Urge to kill... rising.

You're the drama teacher and you don't know this?
You know what? I just dealt with a director who thought she didn't need to deal with Equity and thought she could rearrange the script any way she pleased.

I've seen it happen.

Th drama teacher? Is he/she new? To the school? To teaching drama? To basic human contact?!

Holy... I'm looking for the right words and they're just not coming. Not the least of which, they used the movie dialogue?! Isn't that stepping on the toes of Miramax? And extremely tacky?!
Ugh! I'm ill.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

It gets better--the drama "teacher" added his own dialogue. He said he'd "never been told" of the need to apply for rights (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/theater/10musi.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1147233836-LOCv4+mmquiNXUex6tgRNA). Don't you love the passive, not-my-fault sound of that?

And the principal shrugged and said he'd never applied for rights before--in 27 years of doing plays, he'd never done so.

The best solution would be to let the show go on (for the kids), but garnish every single admission fee, and levy penalties as well. And then go back through the past 27 years years and levy retroactive penalties for whatever unauthorized productions had been mounted. And then fire both the principal and the drama "teacher."

[dje2004.livejournal.com]

I have nothing to add to this discussion. I just dig your new icon.

[camussaysthecow.livejournal.com]

While I understand where you are coming from, the last thing that anyone needs to do is put schools in that kind of ferocious debt. That's sending absolutely the wrong message to teach kids about the theater business and its ability to destroy the drama department, school lunches, and special Ed for Timmy's retarded sister.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Maybe the penalties could be symbolic then--say $10-30 for every unauthorized production, as a means of quantifying the wrong-doing. Although I read they school has a $5,000 budget for lumber so I guess they're not doing too badly.

It's the cynicism that sticks in my craw. I don't believe FOR A SECOND those two guys didn't know they were breaking the law. A drama teacher doesn't know about rights? Bullshit. They just didn't think they'd get caught. And when they did, they spun it so they didn't face effective penalties, by holding up the kids and painting SF and the producers as The Man. And--they were right.

They absolutely should be fired, and I like your idea about exposing the kids to real theater, to a teachable moment. The kids are authentic victims, and it does suck that those who should be teaching them are using them.