Licensed shows...a big debate- Page 2

[sean martin]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 4:13am

Ever since the Studio 54 production of CABARET was put to CD and printed in book form, folks have been lifting from that thing left and right, much to the consternation of MTI. The revival script hasn't been released for production yet; the best you can do is the revival from the early 1980s -- but you still can't perform songs from the movie that were put into the 54 production. Still, people try. Apparently, it's one of the worst to keep track of, to the point where MTI now sends out a form letter three or four days before a licensed show's opening reminding them you cant perform such-and-such song.

Updated On: 7/14/04 at 04:13 AM

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 4:44am

Spider--

I understand your point. There are so-called "traditional" cuts of Shakespeare for length, repetition or clarity (an uncut "Hamlet" runs well over 4 hours, for instance). To cut Shakespeare, because some idiot thinks a particular word or phrase sounds like it might be "dirty" (without bothering to investigate the actual meaning of the text) is ridiculous. Hang in there -- have you thought about perhaps transferring to a more "blasphemous" university?

Updated On: 7/14/04 at 04:44 AM

[Jon]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 10:18am

CABARET is handled by Tams-Witmark, not MTI.

Tams is the most disorganized operation - the easiest to screw with!

[sean martin]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 10:27am

My apologies, you're right: it's TMI.

But dont think they're that easy "to screw with". These licensing houses work hard to protect their material and the people who create it, as well they should.

[Taryn]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 10:37am

My high school did School House Rock Live! last year and our director (who's union and really should know better) literally wrote the entire book. It's mostly music anyway, but he took the new-teacher-is-nervous concept and just wrote all the scenes between songs himself. Talk about illegal. :P

[Scottie310]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 12:32pm

I used to do this youth theater where the director would change the show a lot. We did Pippin, and he made Pippin a girl. Then he made Catherine Pippin's mother. It didnt make sense at all. I think the worst though was we did Hair. However you cant have High school and middle school kids talking about drugs and getting naked so he torn the show apart. He kept most of the songs, he changed the name of the show to Aquarious and rewrote the entire book. I dont think there was a plot to it. It was a bunch of hippies talking about random things. It was really bad. Im surprised he never got fined.

[Clarinetbiter135]

Posted: 7/14/04 at 12:54pm

Yeah. They had it where Curly saves Judd from a bull or something and then they become friends and Judd finds himself a woman of his own. All smiles and everyone lived happily ever after.