Livent Heads Drabinsky And Gottlieb Sentenced To Prison

The Canadian Press reports that theatre impresario Garth Drabinsky has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a massive fraud, while his partner Myron Gottlieb has been sentenced to six years.

"No one is above the law," Ontario Superior Court Justice Mary Lou Benotto said in her decision reports the Press. "No one gets to write their own rules."

Benotto stayed the forgery charges for both men, but sentenced Drabinsky today to four years on one fraud charge and seven years on the second, to be served concurrently. Gottlieb got four years on the first count of fraud, and six years on the second, also to be served concurrently.

On March 25th, Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb were convicted on fraud and forgery charges. Justice Mary Lou Benotto of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto said they "systemically manipulated the books" at the now defunct Livent Inc..

During sentencing hearings, the court heard Drabinsky's lawyer Edward Greenspan read from 46 letters, including character testimonials from arts luminaries such as actor Christopher Plummer, producer-director Harold Prince and author E.L. Doctorow, whose novel "Ragtime" spawned the Broadway musical originally produced by Livent.

Snaring the exclusive Canadian rights for Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, Drabinsky's company restored the historic Pantages Theatre in downtown Toronto (now known as the Canon Theatre) for a glittering opening night in September 1989. There were mixed reviews for the show itself, but high praise for the beautifully restored theatre.

Phantom was a cash cow for Livent throughout the 1990s, and Livent quickly brought in another Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, Joseph and the amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for an extended run with Donny Osmond heading the cast.

But Livent's most crucial role came in developing new musicals for Broadway. Drabinsky was instrumental in reactivating the musical Kiss of the Spider Woman after a disastrous try-out in Purchase, NJ. The producer brought the creative team to Toronto and mounted a summer long run of a revised version of the show opening in June 1992. After Toronto the musical moved to London, and finally arriving on Broadway in May 1993 where it won the Tony Award for Best Musical of the season.

A few months after that win, Livent opened a spectacular new production of the classic musical Show Boat at the then brand new North York Performing Arts Centre in Toronto. The show received sensational reviews and a year later opened on Broadway winning the 1995 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.