Biz buzzes over 'Gold!' dustup
Rudin, Sondheim reach settlement on tuner
But the rift between two of Broadway's biggest players exposed a peculiar wrinkle in the way the legit biz does business.
The settlement promises that, should the show have a future life in the commercial theater, Rudin will be reimbursed the $160,000 he invested in a 1999 workshop of the musical.
But since neither of the lawsuits involved -- Sondheim and book writer John Weidman's suit against Rudin, or his against them -- actually got to court, there's been no judgment as to the facts of the case.
Rudin had asserted that his agreement with the creators to partially fund the workshop gave him a right to further involvement in the show; they disagreed.
What is clearer is that the informal nature of the workshop and investment process on "Gold!" (then known as "Wise Guys") is fairly typical for Broadway, where relationships are more important than pieces of paper.
A producer can spend four, five or maybe even six figures to put on a reading or workshop of a musical.
Rights and royalties are negotiated with the authors during rehearsals, but if a project is not likely to move forward, often no contractual agreements are signed. Why throw good money after bad with further expensive legal wrangling?
In most cases, shows with unsuccessful workshops sink from view and questions like the ones that caused the "Gold" imbroglio simply don't arise.
But this was a work by the most celebrated living Broadway composer, and when the Goodman and director Harold Prince expressed interest in the show, Rudin intervened and was slapped with a lawsuit. His countersuit followed.
"We never had an agreement with these producers about what would happen after the workshop," says Sondheim's lawyer John Breglio. (Rudin declined to comment for this article.)
Breglio says negotiations for a formal contract were in process with Rudin and his fellow producer-investors Roger Berlind, Michael David of the Dodgers and the Kennedy Center, each of whom spent approximately $160,000 on the workshop.
"But those negotiations terminated as to the future course of the show around the time of the workshop," Breglio adds. "No agreement was ever reached."
Various producers not involved with the "Wise Guys" imbroglio expressed mild surprise at the lack of a signed contract, but say the situation is fairly typical.
Anita Waxman and Elizabeth Williams recently put money into a workshop of "Dance of the Vampires," but found themselves left out of the eventual production, now planned for fall 2002.
Waxman would not comment on whether a settlement on that show had been sought or reached, except to say, "A lot of this business is based on trust."
Taking the side of the creatives, one agent expresses it less delicately, "Some producers pee on a project and think they own it."
One source said that matters might have been different if someone had bothered to consult Rudin on the Chicago venture "and treated him like a partner."
And indeed the question of relationships, past and future, is key here.
The settlement with Rudin naturally does not include references to the other investors. None joined Rudin in his suit -- and two of the three are currently involved with Sondheim on other projects.
Berlind, at least, says he expects to remain involved in "Gold!" should the show have a commercial life. As for joining Rudin in his lawsuit, Berlind says, "I never thought to do so."
David is currently involved in the Dodgers' upcoming Broadway production of the Sondheim revival "Into the Woods."
"Our relationship with Steve and John is different from Scott Rudin's," David says.
As for future involvement with "Gold," David says, "It's too soon to say."
The Kennedy Center originally commissioned "Wise Guys" in the mid-1990s. "We will not be involved in the latest incarnation," says Tiki Davies, a spokesperson for the center. The Kennedy Center is, however, producing no fewerless than six Sondheim musicals this summer.
In any case, it seems that none of the other investors is making an issue of their investments in the show.
