The Week in Review

Broadway Scandals of 2013: The Rebecca saga continues to churn. (Rebecca, you will recall is the constantly called-off musical with phantom investors who are alleged to die of malaria while living in Britain. The show's lead producer, Ben Sprecher, remains locked in litigation with his former press agent, Marc Thibodeau, who is accused of warning off potential investors while using an assumed name. Now Sprecher announces that the financing may at last be in place. In a statement, he adds, "Nothing about this lawsuit has anything to do with the actual show, which is continuing to play to sold out houses in Seoul, South Korea, and St. Gallen, Switzerland having just closed in Stuttgart, Germany and opening later this year in Sweden with new productions planned for Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Buenos Aires. The show has been a success in every country and language that it has opened, and we are confident that it can repeat its success on Broadway." (Ah yes, those famous Broadway tryout towns, Seoul and St. Gallen). Anyway, we will see. For more improbable details, go to http://plasa.me/66mbz. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that the judge of the Spider-Man lawsuit is losing patience with the non-progress of the case despite that fact that the parties agreed to settle last August. Key quote: "The judge is pretty fed up," said one person involved with the lawsuit who was at Monday's session and who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door deliberations. "For months, we've all been saying we're a week or two away from a deal, but it still hasn't happened." May 27 is the date for the court case to begin if a final settlement is not reached. For the full story: http://plasa.me/ici1w.

Jersey Boys Fair Use Case Settled: In news that will be of much interest to projection designers everywhere, a panel of the US Court of Appeal has ruled that the producers of Jersey Boys can use clips from The Ed Sullivan Show under the fair-use rule. Dodger Productions was used by SOFA Entertainment, which owns the rights to the Sullivan broadcast. According to Judge Stephen S. Trott "The defendants used the clip in Jersey Boys, their musical about the Four Seasons, to mark a historical point in the band's career. The panel held that this was a fair use because by using the clip for its historical significance, the defendants had imbued it with new meaning and had done so without usurping whatever demand there was for the original clip." The legal implications of this for projection designers are intriguing, to say the least. Jersey Boys features projections by Michael Clark. For the full story, go to http://plasa.me/1j8fu.

Injuries at Ultra Fest: Two workers at Ultra Music Fest in Miami were injured on Thursday when an LED screen fell over. The men were trapped underneath it. We have subsequently heard that they will be all right, but this is yet another high-profile stage accident in the live music industry. Fortunately, it appears that the festival itself has been going off without a hitch. For more about the accident, go to: http://plasa.me/m0vxp. For an upbeat report about the festival's first day and some great visuals, go to: http://plasa.me/2zwq4.

Near Injuries at La Scala: The premiere of Heart of a Dog at La Scala in Milan was postponed after one 55lb weight fell from above, nearly killing a couple of performers. This, apparently, isn't all that is wrong on the technical side at La Scala, as journalist Norman Lebrecht reports: http://plasa.me/35bqp.

Turmoil and Crime at the Bolshoi: But the occasional danger at La Scala is nothing compared to the ugly intrigue at the Bolshoi Ballet, where Sergei Filin, the artistic director had acid thrown in his face. The culprit is a thug who was hired by a dancer and rival of Filin. But, as David Remnick's New Yorker piece vividly details, the dysfunction and danger go much deeper. Read it and be grateful that your theatre has never descended to this level: http://plasa.me/tyqac. In more reassuring news, The Times reports that Filin says he expects to recover. http://plasa.me/lq6sn.

Carnival Cruises into More Trouble: The cruise industry behemoth Carnival is in trouble again. The cruise ship Carnival Dreams suffered problems with a backup diesel generator last week, forcing it to stay in port at St. Martin rather than set sail on March 16. The company paid to fly home 4,363 passengers, starting what one imagines must have been a logistical nightmare. Although not as bad as last month's disaster when a fire in the engine room turned the Carnival Triumph into a floating mess, the new incident is certainly providing little comfort for Carnival executives, who are offering "tepid" earnings projections that are causing the company's stock to drop. For more about the Carnival Dream: http://plasa.me/7zs7p. For the latest on the company's stock: http://plasa.me/24nt2.

Chris Isaak Sued by Lighting Director: Some stars are more difficult than others, but this certainly is an extreme case: Country singer Chris Isaak is being sued by his lighting director, Lane Hirsch, who alleges abusive treatment at the hands of tour manager Tim Lamb, adding that he was fired after going directly to the star and reporting that two female roadies were treated badly. He also says he received homophobic slurs. For a straightforward report, go to: http://plasa.me/wkun9. For another, more explicit version, including slurs, go to: http://plasa.me/lt7qx.

Farewell, Arthur Storch and Sybil Burton: The resident theatre world lost two major figures last week. Arthur Storch was a Broadway actor (Time Limit!, Look Homeward, Angel) in the '50s and director (The Owl and the Pussycat, The Impossible Years, Tribute) in the '60s and '70s before spending 20 years as producing artistic director of Syracuse Stage. Sybil Burton had an unenviable supporting role in the greatest entertainment world scandal of the '60s (and maybe ever) as the wife dumped by Richard Burton for Elizabeth Taylor. She responded by opening Arthur, the chicest disco in Manhattan and went on to found (with Emma Walton), Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, Long Island. Both Storch and Burton were deeply respected. To read about Storch: http://plasa.me/7tjlq. To read about Burton, also the mother of the noted actress Kate Burton, go to http://plasa.me/eqwu0.