And I am now officially hopping mad at the Levin estate - I knew what was going on, but got the proof of it with a photo on Facebook and the fifth email from J2 Spotlight about their Drat - apparently, tickets are available for tonight in a 99-seat theater in NEW YORK. That certainly wasn't the case with Smile, but I think WAS the case with Zorba. In today's e-mail "limited tickets available" they included the history of the show but purposely kept it NY-centric so they didn't have to - wait for it - mention the successful production that just closed in LA. Well, I certainly knew they would not do that. But they did mention the bootleg record and my studio cast recording - those were certainly not NY-centric. But it's the rewriting history in this paragraph that has got me hopping mad - to wit:
"A third came nearly a decade later when a pirated recording of the original Broadway production, lifted from the theater’s sound system, appeared on the shelves at Tower Records. In 1997, a studio recording was made with both Milton Schafer and Ira Levin’s permission and cooperation, giving the show a fourth life. The recording featured the talents of Susan Egan, Judy Kaye, and Elaine Stritch.”
Funny, I don't see the name of the man who not only produced the album, but said yes to making it happen. And this, "a studio recording was made with both Milton Schafer and Ira Levin's permission and cooperation." I guarantee you, that wording came directly from the Levin Estate and they know very well that is NOT what happened. I never even met Milt Schafer until six months after we made the album. And unfortunately for the Levin Estate and the son who is in charge, I have the letter Ira sent me telling me how much he LOVED the recording of She's Roses on Unsung Musicals, and would there be ANY way I would do a studio cast recording of the entire score. He was desperate for me to do it - we didn't do it with their permission and cooperation, which makes it sound like I was desperate to do it and came to them. Of course, the son of Rosemary's Baby did not respond to the missive I sent him the other day.
And today, on the director of Drat's Facebook page there's a photo of the Drat team - with the son, looking JUST like his father, is right there, sitting in the middle of it. Ding, ding, ding. And they're doing the show with SIX actors playing, I suppose, all the roles. I'm not sure what I want to do about the rewriting history part - they carefully did NOT put that paragraph on Facebook because they KNEW I would immediately respond. But I think they must not realize I'm on their email list.
And then, they've printed the letter that Sondheim sent Ira about his lyrics. Know why Sondheim sent it? Because I asked him to, that's why - I even gave him the address.
What would YOU do?
