Well, this isn't Broadway, or a musical, but have you guys heard about that high school that put on a production of ALIEN, live on stage? Yes, they adapted the screenplay of the famous sci-fi movie and staged it. They also posted the full video on YouTube, and here it is below, and yes, that is Sigourney Weaver making a surprise appearance before the show starts.
Of course, all of this was done illegally without the school having gotten permission from anyone or paid for the rights, and the response from the Dramatists Guild is pasted below:
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The following letter, written by Dramatists Guild President Doug Wright, was sent to The New York Times on March 27, 2019, in response to their article “High School Alien Production Wins Internet Raves.”
The Dramatists Guild of America finds so much to admire in the North Bergen High School stage adaptation of the hit film,
Alien. It showcased the work of a devoted instructor determined to find unusual but exciting material for his teenage cast, young actors who reportedly performed the show with brio, and – judging from photographs on the Internet – a visual panache that rivals most professional companies.
We were disappointed, however, to see that the school did not seek permission from the rights owner to present a production of their show, since it was presented outside the context of closed classroom instruction and, therefore, constituted copyright infringement.
Admittedly, in this instance, the rights holder is a huge multinational corporation. But far more commonly, it is a single playwright, lyricist, or composer struggling to make a living off of their work. It is incumbent on high schools, and all academic institutions, therefore, to obtain the rights to the material they choose to perform, not only to avoid legal liability, but to protect the livelihoods of these authors, as well as to demonstrate to their students the appropriate values and behaviors related to the use of copyrighted material.
Sincerely,
Doug Wright
President, Dramatists Guild of America"
), and I was in my happy place.