Photo Flash: UK Producers on US LET IT BE vs. RAIN Lawsuit - West End Program Gives Credit to RAIN
By: BWW News Desk Jul. 24, 2013
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As BroadwayWorld reported last week, The Fab Four hit Broadway tonight, July 24, in Let It Be, but the creators of RAIN, a Beatles tribute show that played on Broadway in 2011, have sued LET IT BE producers for copyright infringement. As a part of the lawsuit, the Rain Corpration seeks 50 percent of the show's revenue becuse LET IT BE uses many of the same songs and "the artwork used as background during the performance of many of those songs are similar or identical."
Then, BroadwayWorld learned from an insider with the West End version of LET IT BE, that the London production is a separate entity and will not be affected by this lawsuit. That same source today sent BroadwayWorld the West End opening program for LET IT BE, which gives credit to RAIN, as well as a screenshot of the producers' website. Scroll down to see the materials!
The UK producers previously released this statement: LET IT BE is produced in the West End by Jamie Hendry Productions, Annerin Productions and others. JHP is unable to comment on the ongoing lawsuit between Rain Corp and Annerin Productions, which is taking place solely in the USA and regardless of the outcome will have no impact on the West End production, which was granted the Grand Theatrical Rights to the Beatles catalogue when it opened in the West End last year. Let It Be continues to play in the West End at the Savoy Theatre and will open on Broadway on 24th July.LET IT BE will began previews on July 16, 2013 at Broadway's St. James Theatre with opening night slated for tonight, July 24th. The show will play a limited engagement through December 29, 2013. LET IT BE kicked off in the fall of 2012 at London's Prince of Wales Theatre, where it recouped its initial investment after just 18 weeks. The show has since moved to The Savoy Theatre, where it continues an open-ended run.
Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles is a Beatles tribute show that is acknowledged to be the first, longest running, and most successful Beatles tribute show in the world. It actually predates the popular Broadway show Beatlemania by several years. Rain ran on Broadway for 300 shows (and 8 preview performances) at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York City from October 2010 to July 2011.
Program from the West End opening of LET IT BE, which uses a photo of the cast of RAIN and fully credits them.
Cover of the original LET IT BE program from the West End, that uses the picture of the cast of RAIN, not the cast of LET IT BE.
On the producers website for "Let It Be, " http://annerin.com (owned by Jeff Parry), at the description for "Let It Be" (http://annerin.com/our-shows) they quote: "Let It Be is a media rich theatrical concert created by the global phenomenon RAIN".
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