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Nov 28
Aug 27
THR Esq. reports today that Jeremy Piven’s mercury poisoning excuse for leaving the Broadway production of “Speed The Plow” last season is sufficient, and he’ll not be liable to the producers for breach of contract, or other claims. Here’s the story:
Arbitrator accepts Jeremy Piven’s sushi explanation–THR, Esq. – Entertainment and Media Law.
Interestingly, the show managed to recoup its investors’ money before it closed, partly, some suspect due to the publicity around Piven’s departure, and replacement by the likes of Norbert Leo Butz and William H. Macy. So, had the producers prevailed in their complaint against Piven, the measure of their damages is anything but clear.
Aug 20
Ken Davenport is a Broadway producer who generously blogs his thoughts about the theatre business. Recently, he posted a terrific explanation of the roles of producer and ‘lead’ producer. It’s worth a read.
“What’s the difference between a lead Producer and a Producer?”.
Aug 12
Episode 4 of my Entertainment Law Update podcast is now available. Visit the site to subscribe using iTunes or your favorite RSS Reader. Attorneys can get California MCLE (Continuing Legal Eduction) credit, too!
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Download Episode (right click)
Approximate Running Time: 1:14
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Aug 10
In the 1990’s Garth Drabinsky’s LIVENT was the hottest commercial producing company on Broadway. With hits like Ragtime! Show Boat, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Fosse!, the company and its founders were on top of the world.
It all came crashing down late in the decade, when it came to light that the company had been engaged in some very creative accounting. Max Bialystock has nothing on these guys!
In 2002 Drabinsky and his colleague Myron Gottlieb were arrested in Canada and charged with fraud and ere convicted earlier this year. On August 5th, after proposing to the Court a sentence involving community service and a speaking tour (it seems the song-and-dance never stops).. the two men were sentenced to seven and six year sentences, respectively.
Although the sentences seem short, they’re appropriate under Canadian law,since both men have serious health problems. Both men remain free on bail pending appeals.
The two men are still wanted in the U.S., where they’ve been charged with additional counts of fraud.
After the implosion of Livent in 1998, the company’s properties were purchased by SFX Entertainment, now operating as Live Nation.
Jul 14
Episode 3 of the Entertainment Law Update podcast is now available at http://entertainmentlawupdate.com
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Download Episode (right click)
Approximate Running Time: 1:06
SHOW NOTES can be found at http://entertainmentlawupdate.com
Jul 10
We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore!
A british theatregoer has prevailed in his lawsuit against a theatre that used recorded music in staging its production of “The Wizard of Oz”.
In a time of increasingly tight budgets, many theatre groups are opting for recorded musical accompaniment, in lieu of paying for an orchestra, conductor, and the additional audio requirements a large orchestra can impose on a production. The savings can be significant, but at what artistic cost? Critics complain that the ‘canned’ music or “tracks” as they’re sometimes called, drastically reduces the vibrancy of the performance given by the actors, singers and dancers on stage.
In England, the cost can be even greater. Adrian Bradbury sued the producers after attending a production of “The Wizard of Oz” that used tracks instead of live musicians. Continue reading »
Jul 07
INTRODUCTION
Raising the financing for any theatrical production is a challenge, even in the best of times. With the current economic climate (which I suspect will remaim the norm for some time), it’s even more difficult to convince investors to fund production of a stage production.
For every cloud, though, there is a silver lining. Many investors’ traditional notions of risk/reward have been turned topsy-turvy by the volatility historically “conservative” investments. So, clever producers may indeed be able to persuade financiers to put their money into projects they believe in from the heart.
Jun 30
Elaine Stritch
John Lahr
When Elaine Stritch opened her Tony award winning “Elaine Stritch At Liberty” in 2000, she did so with help from theatre critic and author John Lahr, best known for his essays, reviews and reportage at The New Yorker magazine. Lahr received a “reconstructed by” credit in the Playbill for Stritch’s show when it opened on Broadway after an initial run at the Public Theater.
According to the complaint filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court, Lahr is entitled to a royalty from each production of the show, including special engagements, but Ms. Stritch has allegedly failed to make payments in accordance with their agreement.
John Lahr is the son of actor Bert Lahr, who played the Cowardly Lion in the 1938 MGM motion picture, The Wizard of Oz
(Hat tip to Susan Grace’s Gracenotes blog)
Jun 08
Congratulations to the Broadway League, The American Theatre Wing, and to all of our friends, clients and colleagues who were nominated and/or took home Tony Awards last night!
What a show. Host Neil Patrick Harris was terrific, and the musical numbers were just right.
