Posted: 9/22/16 at 11:16am
When licensing The Producers do you have to use the original choreography etc? I remember seeing a regional production a couple years back and remember it being basically a carbon copy of the original production and now seeing the videos from Papermill's production it seems like they are using the original choreography and such.
Posted: 9/22/16 at 11:37am
No. In fact, attempting a carbon copy without express written permission is a violation of copyright, though it happens all the time with little to no punishment.
Posted: 9/22/16 at 12:09pm
MTI licenses the Stroman choreography as part of the package for The Producers. I don't know if a company is required to use it, but if you see a production that is using it it is not unauthorized or a violation of copyright (unless, of course, the company in question did not obtain licensing for the show at all, which is a whole other problem).
Posted: 9/22/16 at 12:32pm
Yes, this is correct. A "choreography guide" is included with the rental, but its implementation is not required. This would count as "express written permission" to copy the original choreography, but not the overall design of the show. Generally speaking, copying a design of someone else's production without permission and proper credit is a violation of intellectual property laws.
Updated On: 9/22/16 at 12:32 PM
Posted: 9/22/16 at 9:29pm
Choreography being mandated as part of a licensing agreement, even though its not extant in practice (like you guys said, it seems like licensing firms send out guides more than anything) is a tough issue! The example of Hairspray always comes to mind - it's universally agreed that Jerry Mitchell's work in that show (there's no need to discuss his other work - I have my opinions like everyone else, and they're irrelevant here) was stellar. But at the same time, I've seen some pretty interesting takes on numbers like "Welcome to the 60s" from folks in regional theaters and other groups on Youtube - theoretically mandating that each theater group that licenses the property use original choreography would completely deprive audiences of seeing the takes of other artists on that work (and I've been a bit taken aback myself at the quality of some of the choreography in clips I've seen of regional/school productions of shows like Anything Goes over the year - even though its not Broadway, it clearly doesn't indicate anything about how awesome looking it is - a lot of those numbers looked like they were choreographed by a seasoned Broadway pro!)
Posted: 9/22/16 at 10:00pm
ageorges3 said: "Choreography being mandated as part of a licensing agreement, even though its not extant in practice (like you guys said, it seems like licensing firms send out guides more than anything) is a tough issue! "
That would be an unfortunate thing. But to my knowledge, there isn't a single show or licensing house that mandates the use of anything except the script and score in its entirety.
Posted: 9/22/16 at 10:32pm
trpguyy said: "ageorges3 said: "Choreography being mandated as part of a licensing agreement, even though its not extant in practice (like you guys said, it seems like licensing firms send out guides more than anything) is a tough issue! "
That would be an unfortunate thing. But to my knowledge, there isn't a single show or licensing house that mandates the use of anything except the script and score in its entirety.
I thought West Side Story required you to replicate the Robbins staging to the best of your cast's ability?
Posted: 9/23/16 at 12:08am
I've never heard that before, and can't find mention of it with a very quick Google search. There are strict billing requirements, however, and MTI offers an optional choreography guide for an additional rental.
http://www.mtishows.com/show-full-billing/1065
Updated On: 9/23/16 at 12:08 AM
Posted: 9/23/16 at 2:20am
I've choreographed WSS with no such requirements.
