Amateur production of CABARET (Is this allowed?) — Page 3

well then how do you not argue the same for productions of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST? Where they use the same choreography, or at least elements of it. And the costumes are all replicas of Broadway?

I thought the amateur rights to Beauty and the Beast specifically stated that they can't copy Belle's costume. If they're still doing it, it's out of willful disregard, not ignorance as others have excused the actions here.

There is a trend happening, where an Amateur group watches a bootleg and just copies all of the elements, and this group went as far as copying the staging, choreography, sets, and costumes.

You forgot Alan's ad-libs.

Loy Arcenas successfully sued a regional theater in Florida for illegally copying his set design for the Night of the Iguana revival. Joe Mantello later sued the same theater for illegally copying his direction in Love! Valor! Compassion! That was a professional for-profit theater, however, I don't think legal action would be taken in situations like this. This is MTI's problem, not Sam Mendes's.

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Updated On: 12/26/08 at 12:47 AM

There a bunch of ways you can do CABARET. This isn't even the only staging of the show. Directors should come up with their own ideas. They basically copied the revival move by move.

But the revival designs, choreography, and staging are not licensed to perform.

Nor is the 1998 revival script. Currently only the original and the revisions made for the 1987 revival are available for performance. So by using the 98 revival script they are also violating the terms of their contract with Tams Witmark.

(There may be criminal penalties for continued willful breach of copyright, too...)"

No way! You think?

This argument is almost as bad as discussing bootlegs.
People with double moral standards will never admit what they do is wrong.

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lololol ok most of you bitching probably watch bootlegs of musical DVDs (going of many peoples ages and the productions they claim to have seen they could only have watched a bootleg), so the people bitching that its because of bootlegs are been a tad hypocritical, oh and maybe they shouldn't film Gypsy, you know in case someone steals the design lol

Also, i know with many shows it really does not matter
Fame the musical knows that many companies try and recreate the original UK choreography, the sets they use are normally the hired original UK set (which is enormous) or 1 of the touring sets (you get the Taxis too)

I know that Runar Borge the director of the original London production of Fame and Lars Bethke found it very flattering

The same with Footloose and Karen Bruce etc

I agree that originality would be better, but dont think for a second the original creators would loose any sleep over it

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“That's scary, are people really this ignorant?”

Yes, and I’m afraid ignorance and stupidity have become the new ‘common sense’.

People seem to feel that it’s okay to steal something as long as they aren’t breaking into their house to do it.

“lololol ok most of you bitching probably watch bootlegs of musical DVDs (going of many peoples ages and the productions they claim to have seen they could only have watched a bootleg), so the people bitching that its because of bootlegs are been a tad hypocritical, oh and maybe they shouldn't film Gypsy, you know in case someone steals the design lol”

Nice way to generalize.

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Stealing staging and scenic/costume designs is regional/amateur theatre's dirty little secret. Audiences and actors alike should demand more. Unfortunately, this is the status quo for many theatres around the country. What's even worse...when some theatres do indeed pilfer the original stagings off of shows - even when they do them well, they sometimes (often) miss the point and make a show particularly soul-less. I've sat through many shows like this, and although I'm reassured by the staging/sets that I may know so well - it still leaves me really cold.

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The distinction is theft is removal of the original where there is only one original (as with a painting or a manuscript) and copyright infringement protects the same ownership rights of an artist who creates something that may be reproduced (as in photocopying books or using production rights that may be duplicated in another time or place). And even if you are doing a free production to raise money for starving children, the act is still illegal.

I am going to go with it is both illegal and wrong. I don't appreciate seeing hijacked productions. A real director should surely have his own vision, that's his job.

It is true that there will always be certain aspects that always seem to get recreated. "You're a Goodman Charlie Brown" will always look like Shultz's cartoons, Annie will always wear the exact same red dress at the end of Annie, and in the US costumes for the Wizard of Oz will always resemble those from the MGM film, this is because these things are so ingrained in theatre pop-culture that they will never go away, but using these elements is not the same as exactly copying someone else's production, move by move.

You also have to remember, you can only design Mushnick's Flower Shop so many ways before they start to closely resemble someone else's design.

It is also true that many designers and directors are completely aware that once shows become licensed that the original production will be copied. It's wrong, but for smaller companies it seems to go intentionally overlooked. With Rent being available now there will be many carbon copies of the original and very few reimaginings of it, and everyone knows this. It doesn't make it right, it doesn't make it legal, but it is still unavoidable none the less. I wish it were not true, but it is.

Sarcastic or not, it was still a generalization.

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I understand the meaning sarcasm just fine thank you. Do you understand the meaning of hypocrisy?

And what does when I joined a message board have anything to do ANYTHING?

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"It was by the producers request and we gave credit where credits due."

What?! Did they pay them, or just 'mention them in the program'?



Why so nit picky, Baritone?

Do you steal music?


And my comment about only being here for two months should stand on it's own. Don't really know who you are yet. A lot of bitchy people have joined over the last few months. When you've been here a while, then we might listen to what you have to say, newbie.

Pull the stick out, and you might have some fun here.

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