From I could tell during the brownbag with Mary Jo Lodge, the general attitudes toward copyright in theater are tight. Arabian Nights was an exceptional exception which allowed incredible freedom on the part of the director and cast. However, most plays come with strict contracts which state that nothing is to be changed in the script. This seems to come from a branding mentality. When a show called Book of Mormon is performed, it better be the same show that appeared two months ago in two cities over, or it won’t be Book of Mormon. From the perspective of the creators or copyright holders, a show which deviates from the original would give the original a bad reputation. However, the smart play-goer would understand the show as not being performed by the original cast nor director, thus of course it would be different from the real thing. Regardless of our perceptions, it seems that copyright holders in theater want to do the easiest thing possible to protect their play’s integrity.
Yes, but not all play-goers are the “smart” kind (by “smart” I assume you mean well-versed, not of higher intelligence). Some people may not know theater as well; their only experience of theater may be from smaller companies and community/high school productions (and I would argue that this does not make them not “smart”). If performances at these venues change the play drastically without noting so, these play-goers may associate that particular performance with the show, without knowing that the performance they saw was any different than how it was intended to be performed.
I must agree with Shannon. It can be easy for people who aren’t as familiar with theater to make incorrect assumptions. For Arabian Nights, the word “abridged” needed to be mentioned, but what if a high school play forgot to add that to a poster? Someone of lesser theater knowledge could go into a play that has been edited and assume it is the original work.
Even though comparing a theater show to a TV show seems quite logical, you have to take into account that one is live, while the other is taped. Thus, in live theater no matter what no two performances will ever be the same, as opposed to episodes of TV shows that are the exact same no matter how many times you may watch them.
I love theater and I thought it was really interesting that Professor Lodge had so much freedom with Arabian Nights. It would be possible for a high school to perform it and make the necessary edits to make it family friendly. It’s a risk on the playwright’s side but it allows for various artistic interpretations. I also enjoy a play like Arabian Nights in a different way from something like Rent.