Source: 13 WTHR Indianapolis
NEW YORK (AP) — Dozens of community and nonprofit theaters across the U.
S. have been forced to abandon productions of “To Kill a Mockingbird” under legal threat by Broadway and Hollywood producer Scott Rudin. The combative move has prompted calls for a boycott of Rudin’s work.Rudin is arguing that author Harper Lee signed over to him exclusive worldwide rights to the title of the novel and that Rudin’s current adaptation on Broadway — written by Aaron Sorkin — is the only version allowed to be performed.
That means different adaptations have had to be scuttled in such small venues as the Grand Theatre in Salt Lake City; Mugford Street Players in Marblehead, Massachusetts; and the Kavinoky Theatre in Buffalo, New York, as well as a planned United Kingdom and Ireland tour. They had licensed the rights for a different version, written by Christopher Sergel and licensed by The Dramatic Publishing Company or DPC.
In a statement, Rudin defended his position. “We hate to ask anybody to cancel any production of a play anywhere, but the productions in question as licensed by DPC infringe on rights licensed to us by Harper Lee directly,” he said.
“The Sergel…
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