Chicago URINETOWN Lawsuit Settled

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 8:28am

The lawsuit involving a Chicago production of Urinetown has been settled.

The controversy began when the creative team of Chicago's Mercury Theater production of Urinetown in May 2006 was accused of using "significant aspects of the Broadway team's original, creative work." The Chicago team later filed a countersuit. The Chicago team's suit asked for declaratory judgments stating it did not violate the Copyright Act or the Lanham Act (which contains federal trademark law).
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A statement released Nov. 29 by the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers — an independent national labor union — says that the two sides have "resolved their differences and settled the case pending before the federal court in the Northern District of Illinois."

Both parties have acknowledged that the work of the original Urinetown creative team — including John Rando (director), John Carrafa (choreographer), Brian MacDevitt (lighting designer), Scott Pask (set designer) and Gregory Gale (costume designer) — were incorporated into the Chicago mounting, but the "Chicago production [also] included original and creative works of Tom Mullen, Jen Kules, John Rotonda, Brian Loeffler, Matt Gunnells and William Morey."

The statement also says, "The parties desire to settle their differences and mutually regret any embarrassment or negative inferences caused by or resulting from this dispute. . . It was not the intent of anyone involved in either production to suggest that anyone associated with such productions acted maliciously."

To resolve the controversy, the Chicago production will pay an undisclosed sum to the Broadway team.

The Carousel Dinner Theatre in Akron, OH, had also been accused of plagiarism by members of the show's Broadway creative team for its production of Urinetown. The statement does not mention the Ohio production.
Chicago URINETOWN Lawsuit Settled

Updated On: 11/30/07 at 08:28 AM

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 2:24pm

So basically the Chicago people admitted to stealing their ideas and are paying them accordingly. Sounds fair to me.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 2:30pm

"So basically the Chicago people admitted to stealing their ideas and are paying them accordingly. Sounds fair to me."

They were accused of using the same staging and lighting, neither of which are copyrightable. And also, those aspects are owned by the show's original producers, not the designers. If I were commissioned to design a set for a Disney musical, do you honestly think that I would own that design? That's what the case was about. The only reason this settled was because it would cost more to litigate than it was worth for a non-profit like the Mercury.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 5:42pm

There should be stricter laws about this sort of thing, but there aren't. As an artist you can "copyright" an idea, but that's it. It's a fine line when it comes to using someone else's artistic idea, but the Chicago Urinetown folk obviously went way over it.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 5:43pm

They used the EXACT choreography from Broadway on several numbers.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 5:45pm

I'd like to see someone do Fiddler On The Roof, but avaiod the bottle dance.


This sucks.

[me2]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 5:45pm

I think if you sued every director who used ideas from other productions, they'd all be broke. Isn't every production a take off from the original Broadway production anyway?
Broadway Blog: Reflections While Reading Call Me Anna (by Patty Duke)

[secondcity]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 6:44pm

Wow! Someone needs to stop crying about stuff they don't have any idea of. First off, the number Run Freedom Run was the only number used and it does not belong to the Broadway production. It belongs to Janine Sabo. I should know she is a very dear friend, she was the associate choreographer who Carrafa fired when the show opened. She created and set the enire number and the Chicago production, had her permission and credit to use it! Stop THE LIES! Ask any member of the Broadway cast they will confirm this. Also I have talked to many people in the Chicago cast who confirmed that the authors were in rehearsals helping to put the show up. I think many of us have a hard time buying that this is not about money.

WAKE UP TO THE FACTS

This case and the one in Ohio is about people trying to get a cut of the authors ROYALTY, it is not about principal or copyright infringement.

Also for the record, the case must not have been too good for the union otherwise why did they settle at all. Hmmm?

[Jon]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 6:50pm

TheatreDiva - when you do Fiddler, you are ENCOURAGED to use the original choreography. You get a huge choreography guide book with every step mapped out. In fact, professional productions are REQUIRED to use it. Your program must say "Original direction and chorography by Jerome Robbins". You are not allowed to list anyone else as choreographer. You may only say "Mr. Robbinns' choreography RECREATED by_____ ______".

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 6:52pm

Well, that's just one example.

Me2 said it best, "I think if you sued every director who used ideas from other productions, they'd all be broke. Isn't every production a take off from the original Broadway production anyway?"

And Thank You Second City, for that post.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 6:54pm

I'm not talking about "ideas". I'm talking about EVERY SINGLE STEP AND HAND GESTURE.

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 9:33pm

step and hand gesture? wouldn't they need to sue the actors as well then?

Posted: 11/30/07 at 9:38pm

Well, Urinetown Creative team, I saw a High Schol production last month- looked identical to the one I saw at Mercury to me. Sue away.

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 10:54pm

I don't get it. Wasn't the Broadway production of URINETOWN in itself a takeoff on a number of former Broadway musicals?

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 11:00pm

"As an artist you can "copyright" an idea"

No, you can't.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 11:11pm

Well, I remember reading that you can when the whole Chicago Urinetown thing came up last spring. You can legally "own" a piece of direction or design or whatever if you take the initiative to do so. I forget the example used, but it's like, if they wanted to copyright the Phantom's half mask, they could theoretically do that. They might lose in their attempt, but you can at least try. Either that or you can ensure that people have to pay royalties for using your ideas in a theatrical production.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 11:38pm

As long as there are bootleg video, there will be productions that copy Broadway, down to every hand gesture.

But if that's the case, the "choreographer" should list themselves in the program as "the person who watched the video a hundred times and then taught the moves to the cast".

And the "costume designer" should be "the person who saw a photo of the Broadway costume and duplicated it."

[MissRidiculous]

Posted: 12/1/07 at 10:55pm

SecondCity, I would love to know which of your friends say the authors were in the room, helping to put the show up. I worked with the creative team and can tell you for a fact that none of them were in any way involved in the Chicago production. I also saw the Chicago production and can tell you that every bit of staging was an EXACT replication of the Broadway production. I am talking about EVERY SINGLE gesture. The only differences were little additions, like adding the Elphaba riff to the end of one of the numbers. And those "additions" were all of lesser quality than the staging and ideas in the original production.

You should check YOUR sources and WAKE UP TO THE REAL FACTS.

This is not about getting a royalty; this is about giving credit where credit is due. Your friend's involvement notwithstanding, the fact is the Chicago team stole the staging, costume and set design from the Broadway production and credited the work as their own.

I'm curious, since you're so OPINIONATED and TELL US WE NEED TO WAKE UP: Did you see both productions? Or are your FACTS all from one falable source?

[sondhead]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 1:17am

"They were accused of using the same staging and lighting, neither of which are copyrightable."

Actually, pretty much anything can be copyrighted. You can write down staging and lighting, and thus they can be copyrighted. Not sure where this misconception is coming from.

"I think if you sued every director who used ideas from other productions, they'd all be broke."

And thus it is okay to steal other people's work?

God forbid someone be creative and come up with their own stuff rather than copying the bootleg as seems to be so prevalent EVERYWHERE these days. What a great way to show you love the work somebody else did--by stealing it, using it in a production that makes money, and not including them in any of the profit! Gee thanks!

Sorry, I'll never buy it. Except for productions that come licensed with staging books (West Side, Fantasticks etc.) it is ridiculous to steal not to mention not very creative either. Admire original choreography all you want for whatever it historically did.. that does NOT make it OK to steal it!

It's kind of like people that only use xerox's for voice lessons and coachings.. to which the response is "well, music gets too expensive." So do cars. I guess we should start stealing those too.

[BrianS]

Posted: 12/2/07 at 2:23am

Regarding the choreography, John Caraffa definitely used many iconic works from many musicals as part of the original choreography. It was in the style since the show was playfully mocking musicals, but it does complicate the case of "original choreography."
Not that it matters, but several Broadway OC members joked that John should be paying them royalties since a lot of rehearsals consisted of them coming up with great bits and John saying "yeah, that's great. let's keep that." Every show has an element of that, but he seemed to stretch it a bit more than normal.

[secondcity]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 3:32pm

Dear Miss R:

You asked where are my sources are?? I do not need any sources, I did the PR for the show, I have all the footage of the authors working here in Chicago with the Chicago cast. I also saw the dismal tour of the B'way production and the show is NOT even close to being a copy. The fact remains the Chicago company did it better!

The big whoops here is that the entire staff at Music Theatre INT has been telling everyone that the creative team on Broadway is trying to secure a portion of the authors royalties. So stop saying that it is about credit, it is about MONEY!!

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 2/29/08 at 3:47pm

Glad it has been settled!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 3/1/08 at 12:06am

Glad this was bumped 3 months later!