Running Your Theater: licensing question

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licensing question

Printed From: Community Theater Green Room
Category: Theater Administration
Forum Name: Running Your Theater
Forum Discription: General questions about how to make it work
URL: http://www.communitytheater.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2347
Printed Date: 10/30/25 at 9:32pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 8.05 - http://www.webwizforums.com

Topic: licensing question

Posted By: kmdded
Subject: licensing question
Date Posted: 4/12/07 at 9:26pm

I am director of a new theatre company for youth. We just finished doing the Wizard of Oz and it was a great success and a great time. We are wanting to do 2 week long summer camps. I wanted to use music from High School Musical ....kind of like a Broadway review with choreography, costuming and minimal dialogue. The show will only be 30 minutes long. Do I have to have special licensing to use songs?

Thanks ahead of time for input here.

Replies:

Posted By: Theatrestation
Date Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:05pm

Yes, you will need to go through MTI - Music Theatre International (MTIshows.com) They hold the rights to High School Musical.

My opinion (and again MTI will have all the answers) is that what you want to do is actually illegal. If you are doing songs (no dialogue) from various shows you should be able to pay by way of ASCAP (and I think you are not allowed to do more than two songs from any one show). What you are wanting to do is to take the show and basically cut it up, which violates lots of laws.

Your only hope would be if MTI offers a "concert version" or Hal Leonard company does one at some point. My guess is though that the show is too new for either of those options.

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http://www.castbuilding.com
http://www.theatrestation.com

Posted By: kmdded
Date Posted: 4/12/07 at 10:37pm

Thanks. THat's what I thought but wanted to be sure

Posted By: POB14
Date Posted: 4/13/07 at 9:48am

MTI licenses concert versions of a number of their shows (see http://www.mtishows.com/concerts.asp - http://www.mtishows.com/concerts.asp ), but HSM isn't one of them. They do license a one-act version, though. that runs 70 minutes.

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POB
Old Bugger, Curmudgeon, and Antisocial B**tard