Copyright question/dilemma — Page 2

You write a letter to the legal office at Tams-Witmark Music Library (google them for an address) and report what you did here. The theatre will probably only get a slap on the hands for it, but they may have to pay something, because this is illegal.

I reported a theatre once because they were going to do a Neil Simon play with an all-male cast. Well, Neil Simon didn't get rich or become the most commercially successful playwright of the 20th Century by being stupid. The theatre had to cancel that production and replace it with a show they had to do correctly.

Good luck with this.

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This sh*t happens all the time. If every single performance that changed a line, or made a male character female (and vice versa), or assigned a line to someone else, there would be no regional or school productions. We can't police the world all the damn time.

If you're not directly involved, mind your own business!

Updated On: 4/3/07 at 09:23 PM

I really don't like people who knowingly break the law, but at the same time little changes happen all the time. It's just the nature of theatre. I would only report the production if they reset the whole thing in an American Bar during the current war or other shows where they just completely and utterly change the entire structure and meaning of the show. If they paid for the rights and are altering the show to be closer to the revival which is proven to be more of a hit with modern audiences then I say just leave them alone. The revival script should be available to license anyway and the longer they wait the more illegal productions will take place since it’s not that hard to alter the score and the script is available along with the coffee table book.