Dear Theater Fans, Please Stop Stealing- Page 4

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/5/17 at 6:05pm

darquegk said: "Bootlegging goes much farther back than audio recording- Gilbert and Sullivan was bootlegged with in-theatre transcriptions of the songs sent overseas to America before the official troupe could do an international tour. Even some of our Shakespeare folios today are suspected to be transcribed and reconstructed bootlegs.

 

"

Aren't the stories of the G&S thievery amazing, darquegk? I just love imagining the guy whose job was just to sit through the show, notating the viola part as the evening proceeded.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/5/17 at 6:16pm

NOTE re PLAYBILLS: I don't know the current practice on Broadway, but any theater where I've ever worked has had people (usually ushers) pick up good-condition programs off the floor after the show. These are then returned to the rack to be handed out at future performances.

These "formerly owned" programs are factored into the count of programs printed for the run of the show. Where this practice exists (again, not sure about Broadway), whether you pick them off the floor or take them from the rack, it amounts to the same theft from whoever pays for the programs.

No, this doesn't keep me awake at night.