Performers in "Broadway's Lost Treasures" DVD Series Threatening to Sue

This is why we can't have nice things.

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I totally understand the basis of where the performers are coming from. Personally, I think they only have the right to give their consent to have their performance be published onto DVD and receive NO compensation.

If it were me, I wouldn't care. I would be thrilled to have my performance documented. I would be thrilled that the piece of art I created is preserved, even if it were just one musical number from the show. I would be thrilled that my participation in the Tony Awards is now cherished by new generations of fans.

Do they also want compensation from fans lucky enough to have VCRs back then and recorded the Tonys?

If the issue is JUST money, I say shame on them. Yes, it's difficult to be a working actor in New York and make end's meat, but they knew what they were getting into. They chose this profession. If the issue is the principle of the thing, then I understand.

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Updated On: 3/2/07 at 01:08 PM

Do they also want compensation from fans lucky enough to have VCRs back then and recorded the Tonys?

Well, to play devil's advocate here, the fans who record the shows on their VCRs aren't selling them commercially for a profit.

If the issue is JUST money, I say shame on them. Yes, it's difficult to be a working actor in New York and make end's meat, but they knew what they were getting into.

Of course the issue is just money, but they probably are entitled to compensation. And all those people are in unions, part of whose purpose are to protect the artists from getting screwed. I don't think it's fair to brush it off by saying they knew what they were getting into, simply because they've chosen show business as their profession.

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No, it shouldn't.

These were telecast (mostly) years and years ago when theatre wasn't readily available on "home video." Therefore, it is understandable that each performer wouldn't have given consent back then. It was the understanding they would only be performing for a awards show telecast.

Today, it can be written into the contract that when you perform in a show, consent it automatically given if a recording were published. Fincancial compensation would then be provided.

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Yep, this is the reason we get so few Broadway dvd's like this. Can't they just be happy their work is getting exposure? It's not like the Lost Treasures people are doing this to dick them over. Its for this history of it all.

I still say, release every Broadway show on dvd. Even if you have to charge $100 for it just to recoup the union fees, etc., fine. The devoted fans who want them will buy them. Don't worry about a mass-media release and charging $20 each for them. I know I'd happily pay $100 for my favorite shows on dvd.

Wouldn't a Tony performance come under the heading of "publicity" though? Actors don't get paid for promo work they do like the Bway preview, Shubert Alley, etc. At least that's what the money men are likely to say.

I suppose that they should receive something, but the money they'd receive would be so paltry I'd hardly think worth the time.

I mean, how much does a chorus member of 42nd STREET earn in one number on a compilation dvd?

Notice that its the actors (Wanda Richert for example) who have been out of work for years that are bringing up this compensation issue. She probably is short on cash and needs some money, so why not try this route. I'd be shocked if Chita Rivera and Angela Lansbury were wanting to be paid for this.

They're going to have to divide up amongst themselves the $40 I spent on the first two DVDs. I haven't even purshached III or Plays yet.

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It doesn't eliminate the chances of new productions. Just doesn't help older ones.

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"This is why we can't have nice things."

Hahaha, I love it.

I'm really annoyed at the performers for doing this. Don't they realize how much exposure they're getting? Broadway's Lost Treasures, for instance, introduced me to the Kiss of the Spider Woman. I wouldn't have purchased the OBC otherwise.

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i noticed that it was the out of work "chorus kids" bring this bullsh*t up. blah! glad i got the DVDs when i could.