Amanda Molitor ’14, Gonzalo del Peon ’13: To the excitement—and no doubt surprise—of those theatrically inclined at Episcopal, the Domino Club announced last spring that the 2013 Upper School musical would be the musical sex crime drama Chicago; however, due to complications in receiving the legal rights to perform the musical, Chicago won’t make it to the Mainstage Theater.
Chicago appealed to the Theater Department and Domino Board as a clear change of pace from last year’s Seussical. “We wanted our next show to be different than any show we’ve done before. [Chicago] is adult-themed and in a style we haven’t tackled before,” said Dan Clay, Upper School director and theater teacher.
This summer the rights to perform Chicago were unexpectedly denied to Episcopal. The licensing agency cited the possibility of a professional tour in 2013 that limited its ability to be generous with the performance rights.
Because Chicago is licensed, schools that wish to perform it must submit an application and pay a copyright fee in order to gain the rights. Episcopal’s application was submitted over the summer, after the musical had already been announced to the school as next spring’s featured show.
Many are not aware of the legal logistics associated with obtaining the rights to perform a play. Problems with legalities in the arts are few and far between, especially regarding high school productions, yet Episcopal has experienced cases of denied rights for fall plays in the past. Two years ago, the Domino Board decided that the fall play would be Farndale Avenue Town’s State Women’s Guild Production Dramatic Society’s Production of Macbeth, but only after having been denied the rights to two other productions.
“The reason that we announced it prior to actually receiving confirmation is that high schools in the area do it all the time,” explained Clay. “So, we said that there was no reason why we wouldn’t be able to obtain the rights for it.”
It must be noted that DeSales University in Lehigh Valley has Chicago in their program for this year, although whether they have legally obtained the rights remains unclear.
There are possible explanations for this unexpected roadblock besides the national tour. “Many big productions aren’t too enthusiastic in dealing with high schools, and also copyright laws are becoming stricter because of the internet,” pointed out Clay.
Members of the Domino Board received the news regarding this speed bump in the preparations for the spring musical over the summer. To most, it came as a surprise because of how confident the Theater Department was in receiving the green light from the licensing agency.
For Domino Board member Caroline Hunter ’14, this setback has come as an upsetting shock. “I was so excited to do Chicago,” exclaimed Hunter, who had already been preparing for her audition.
“Not doing Chicago was a little surprising just because I thought we were really sure about it,” said Margaret LeBoeuf ’13, a member of the Domino Board, “but when Mr. Clay emailed us, I was not as surprised because this had happened before [with the fall play two years ago].”
Although it is possible to reapply for the rights to Chicago in the fall, the chances of obtaining them are slim. “We are now going back to our original list of musicals and trying to figure out what would be best to do at Episcopal,” Clay explained. However, the productions on this list cannot be disclosed. Chicago is thematically unlike anything Episcopal has attempted before, which raises questions about the style of the alternative options. Clay wondered whether the show should be similar to Chicago or if it should be completely different, leaving the option open for performing Chicago another year.
The final decision will be announced by October at the latest.