Question about producing high school musicals

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/5/08 at 11:01pm

If you want to use songs from a movie that aren't in the musical, who do you contact to pay the royalties? Like if someone wanted to produce Grease which doesn't have YTOTIW, who would you contact to use YTOTIW in the musical?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/5/08 at 11:05pm

I don't know the answer to your question, but, besides getting permission to USE the song, you would need to get permission to CHANGE the material to even ADD it in.

Posted: 7/5/08 at 11:07pm

Not gonna happen. Are the rights even available while this production is running on Broadway?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/5/08 at 11:09pm

When it's NOT the original production...you can often (but not always) get the rights when a revival is on the boards.

But if they are mounting a tour of it that might play withing certain mileage, they could pull the rights...happened to my h.s. a while ago...luckily before we even held auditions.

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 12:08am

As long as this production of Grease isn't withing a 50 mile radius of Broadway, the school is allowed to put it on. I have no idea how to get the rights or anything, but every high school/community production of Grease I've seen has had YTOTIW in it.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 12:34am

I believe the only available script of Grease for amateurs to licence is the original Broadway script. Professional productions that have added the songs from the film have had permission to do so by the authors and the right holders. These scripts have never been available to licence. Having said that, most productions add the songs illegally anyway.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 12:38am

Most high schools (including mine eons ago) used the damn movie songs. Sammy French doesn't police their properties as well as they should- hell, Carnival cruises got away with it for 20 years.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 12:51am

Some companies, like R&H and Tams do liscence songs to be added in. Not sure about Sam French.

And yea, we had our ITW rights pulled about two weeks to opening night, for a national tour that never materialized.

[gypsy4]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 1:35am

samuel french licenses the original production so you would have to talk to them in your agreement is this your first time producing a musical?
Grease Rights

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 2:13am

I am not producing one. It is just a hypothetical question I have wondered for a while.

[winston89]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 2:27am

I know that you have to be at least 50 miles away from any Broadway or touring company in order to do the show. I know from MTI they have the person doing the show be the one to check if a touring company is within fifty miles (or if they are close to Broadway) this is the reason why there was so much trouble with the production of Chicago in the Bronx. They were no where near fifty miles away from Broadway.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 12:29pm

"I know that you have to be at least 50 miles away from any Broadway or touring company in order to do the show."

Basically since I am in Texas I could do any show as long as it is not touring in or around Fort Worth. If I was doing Mamma Mia or Avenue Q, I couldn't do it because they are touring here during this summer. Unfortunately, I can't see them!

[gypsy4]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 12:34pm

you wouldn't be able to do mama mia or avenue q anyway they arn't even avaliable yet
well avenue q might be i think it is on fast track notafication still.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 4:57pm

"Basically since I am in Texas I could do any show as long as it is not touring in or around Fort Worth."

uhhh... NO. Some shows aren't available AT ALL. Whether they are touring or not.

Any show curriently on Broadway in its original production (not a revival) is probably not available. AT ALL.

The probelm with that High schol production of Chicago was Not that they were within 50 miles of NYC. The problem was that they HAN'T GOTTEN PERMISSION AND WEREN'T PAYING ROYALTIES. They just made photocopies of the script and music and did the show.

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 5:30pm

i produced/directed Grease at my school last year and we had such problems with it.

we got all the license business sorted, but when we asked about adding the film songs into the show, they dug their heels in.

we decided to just go for it in the end because the new version of the show has the film songs thrown in.

unfortunately the show was cancelled...so who knows what would have happened.



anyways, yeah it is bizarre that some people (mostly schools) are totally oblivious that you can't just put on any show you fancy, especially ones that are on broadway/west end. a rival school to mine were unaware you had to even request a license.

i heard word that a school here was going to put on wicked, but call it the 'witches of oz' and use the original script.

idiots.

[Jon]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 6:54pm

Marriott Lincolnshire Theatre, a big professional theatre near Chicago, did GREASE last year. They paid an extra $2000 a week royalties in order to use the movie songs.

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 7/6/08 at 7:20pm

it's craziness!

i mean, they probably are just holding off doing a revised Grease script/score because it gives them more dosh.

do we reckon they might revise it when Grease comes off Broadway/West End...or are they likely to tour again (sigh)?