Thunder & Lightning Ensemble opens its production of Bob Glaudini’s comedy Jack Goes Boating tonight, the play’s Chicago premiere. If you happen to go see it, won’t you tell me how it was? Because I’m not allowed to tell you.
I was planning to review the show, which starred Philip Seymour Hoffman in its New York debut two years ago (he’s also directing the movie), for next week’s issue, until I got an apologetic email from the company this morning. After I reserved for tonight’s show, T&L discovered an odd little clause in their contract with licensing agency Samuel French: “No reviews.”
I’ve written before about the strange ways play-licensing plays out in Chicago, but this was a new one to me. I put in a call to Samuel French, where a rep explained that they agreed to allow a production on the no-reviews condition in hopes of securing a larger production later; rather than simply denying the rights, French deemed T&L’s 12-show run in a 35-seat theater small enough that it couldn’t hurt.
Of course, 12-show runs in 35-seat theaters are known in Chicago as “the storefront scene,” and they make up a vast swath of what we review every week. Thunder & Lightning should have caught the clause in their contract before they signed it, but who would have expected such a silly thing as a playwright who didn’t want press for his play? Now T&L is stuck with a production it can’t promote through traditional means, and no press clippings they can use when applying for grants. And I’m stuck with a hole to fill in next week’s magazine.
You know you are not obligated to do anything by a contract between them right? If you see the show there is nothing to stop you legally from writing about the show. You haven’t signed a contract with Samuel French.
Absolutely true. T&L isn’t supposed to invite the press. But I don’t see how French could hold the theater responsible if I bought a ticket a wrote about it.
With as many theatrical blogs (including your own, Mr. Vire) as there are in our fine city, something tells me this show will be reviewed. Reviewed long and reviewed hard.
What constitutes a review? Could a person go see the show and then write about it on a blog?
Here’s an offer. I will pay the ticket purchase price for any print critic in town who wishes to go review Thunder and Lightning’s production of JACK GOES BOATING. (One ticket per critic; I’m not made of money, and theatre critics don’t have friends anyway.) Thunder and Lightning, along with anyone who reads this blog, is hereby authorized to circulate this offer however they choose. I am inviting critics to their show; I am in no way affiliated with Thunder and Lightning, and they do not even know I am making this offer, so it doesn’t violate their agreement with Samuel French. Critics can contact me at City Lit Theater, 773-293-3682, and I will call Thunder and Lightning to set up your reservation; or you can make a reservation directly with Thunder and Lightning, who can then bill me. Whichever is easier. French’s maneuver is disgraceful, and should not succeed.
Let’s keep in mind this isn’t so much a First Amendment issue of theater reviews wanting to be free (nor am I too poor or too cheap to pony up for a 15 buck ticket myself). It’s a shame that T&L has put up a production and has critics willing to report on it and that won’t happen, but I’d hate for French to punish T&L (with whatever contractual power they have) if reviews did get out. In a way it’s like critics are being blackmailed–”Don’t publish a review or we’ll shoot the theater company!”
The people at French are nice folks, and I genuinely believe French thought it was doing a nice thing by not denying T&L the rights entirely. But it displays a lack of understanding of Chicago theater to think that just because a company is small, storefront and non-Equity are going to just fly under the radar.
The folks at Samuel French may be perfectly delightful people with a concern for their fellow man that out-Saroyans Saroyan, but they were not doing a nice thing here and they knew they weren’t. Dollars to doughnuts there was no cover letter that said something like, “Please note that we have added a special clause to the standard contract. Review carefully before you sign and return it.” They know that a standard form contract is likely to get skimmed at best, and they knew they would be taking $60 or $70 per performance in royalties from a small theatre company at the same time they were slipping in a clause that would undercut that company’s chances of making its money back. My offer has nothing to do with a First Amendment issue (I don’t see how it applies here; the government isn’t trying to censor anything), and everything to do with a small theatre company getting screwed. Go see and review their show, Kris, either on your nickel or mine. It can’t get Thunder and Lightning in trouble with French; their agreement with each other is not binding on you or me, and this blog is proof that T and L were not involved in my inviting you to go.
Just to comment…I’m a producer in NYC who has had many unfortunate dealings with the rights department of Samuel French. Ultimately, as stated above, they think they are doing the right thing by everyone, but in the end, their decisions only hinder the artists (even the ones they’re representing) and make things so much more difficult than it needs to be. Perhaps if our industry wasn’t so focused on making money, transferring to broadway, or looking good in the papers, the theater-folk can get back to doing what it is they do best; make good theater.
Wanna come down to Pilsen and see “The Lost Shakespeare Play”? We’d love to have you Kris!
Thank you to the Chicago Theater Community for supporting Thunder & Lightning’s production of JACK GOES BOATING. The cast is grateful to Kris for bringing the issue to light, to Terry for his generous offer, and to everyone else that has contacted us to share their own experiences with this NO REVIEWS nonsense. Considering the current economic climate, we are awfully proud (and lucky) to be producing theater and we hope you get a chance to check out the show.
Andy, I will send this debate to all of my students at Depaul in hopes they will go to see your production. And I wanna see it too!
I will be sure to tell everyone about Thunder and Lighting’s production. Hopefully this discussion will help fill the seats.
And meanwhile, Nina Metz reviews the show today in the Trib and gives it 2 1/2 stars, mostly criticizing the production. On Kris’ private blog Nina said that she bought a ticket (and hopefully got reimbursed by the Trib).
I am a personal friend of the director and 2 of the cast members, Jeannie Giannone and Andy Carl - both of whom are wonderful actors, and I know of the work of the other two cast members who are also fantastic. And the director is one I have worked with many times, and is very good at what he does. I surely hope the show doesn’t suffer from not having reviews, because I can only imagine with such a talented group that it will be top notch.
As a former Samuel French employee, I have seen this situation before.
If you are just now being told that there is no press allowed, most likely Thunder & Lightning did not obtain a license until nearly opening night, and that the “no-press” clause in the agreement was included the behest of a larger, professional theater in the area that planned on doing the play in the near future.
The fact that they agreed to such a draconian clause leads me to believe that they waited until the last minute for the rights, and it was either accept the terms or cancel the production. It was a story I’d seen dozens of times. I don’t know this for sure, I could be wrong. But if I had to bet a dollar…
Regarding your comment “who would have expected such a silly thing as a playwright who didn’t want press for his play?”: It would be far sillier for a playwright to allow a Storefront Scene production to jeopardize the chances of a larger, far more lucrative production in a professional theater. Which professional theater? Well, just keep an eye out for which company has Jack Goes Boating on their 2009-2010 schedule.
Hi James. I feel obligated to disprove your theory that we are total fuck-ups. Rights were obtained months before rehearsals even started.
Andy, but no one read them and saw that clause months before rehearsals started, so Thunder and Lightning’s not totally blameless either.
Sam French does some pretty stupid things (like licensing multiple productions at the same time) but not reading the rights agreement is pretty silly as well.
Andy, Tell me where to send you the aforementioned dollar. ;)