Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave!

Last month, I noted an blog entry by Christine Dolen about the return of Gary Waldman and Jamison Troutman to South Florida. In my article, I noted:

Waldman and Troutman have a ..colorful...history in South Florida. Insiders might describe them as having had a string of failed companies, and would probably ponder the list of designers and technicians left unpaid in the wake of unannounced closings. One hopes that those tales are exaggerated.

This resulted in some remarks made to me off-line by friends and co-workers, along the general lines that maybe I was being unfair to the producers. I do not believe that was the case; those stories have long been out there, and several former employees and associates have mentioned the nature of their relationship with Waldman and Troutman. And I did say that I hoped those stories were exaggerations. That's because I really was hoping that the stories were exagerrations.

It appears that they are not.

About the same time I was writing my article, Hap Erstein echoed similar sentiments to my own:

These two producing partners used to run the Atlantis Playhouse, which closed abruptly three years ago, leaving in its wake many distraught subscribers...

May I suggest you only buy single tickets?

Since then, the comments on Christine's original blog entry have drawn a number of commentators, and a lot of facts. And some angry bluster from Gary Waldman:

Why are the VAST, VAST majority of the actors, designers, etc., that we have worked with over the years working with us now, discussing future projects and flocking to our auditions?

Well, it's likely that none of those "vast, vast" numbers of actors will be members of Actors' Equity Association, where Waldman and Troutman apparently have been listed on the Fraudulent Producers list(unable to verify as of Jan 11, 2009). Nor will they be hiring any members of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, where Mr. Waldman appears on the Strike List, as updated on December 29, 2008.

STRIKE LIST
Members may not accept
employment from any theatre or
producer on the SSDC Strike List.

Drama Center, Inc.

Gary Waldman, Producer

Florida

In the April 20, 2005 edition of the Sun-Sentinel (complete article), the two were the subject of a story by Jack Zink entitled "DEBT CLAIMS, CLOSURES, ENMITY TRAIL THEATER PRODUCERS DUO SETTING UP SHOP AT HOLLYWOOD PLAYHOUSE." It recounts several failed ventures.

In a series of moves since 1995, Waldman -- with Troutman since 1999 -- has left behind disgruntled ticket holders, vendors, business associates or landlords.The list includes the Kaplan Jewish Community Center and the Cuillo Centre in West Palm Beach, the Rod & Gun Restaurant in Delray Beach, the Drama Center in Deerfield Beach, the Hollywood Playhouse, and former associates in New York, New Jersey and
Illinois.

In his responses on Christine's blog, he states that he was welcomed back by the theatre community. But he didn't mention if that included his former business associates:

The Glists, who continued their business relationship with Waldman, and another associate, Jay Harris, said they lost more than $100,000 in the year Waldman and Troutman ran the Wilton.

If Gary really wants to drive his point home, all he needs is a letter from the Glists or Jay Harris saying that they are delighted he's back, and they look forwared to working with him on something. How about it, Gary? Have Kathy or Alan give me a call; they have my number.

A poster known as "ssdcer" posted more quotes from the article. And how does Mr. Waldman respond?

To add, Mr./Ms. SSDCER, you have broken the law by plagiarizing a major daily newspaper and a published opinion page.

It's nice to see that Mr. Waldman has beens studying Copyright Law; it would have saved him recieving that "cease and desist" letter for using songs he hadn't licensed a few years back. I assume he resolved that matter, since he's since produced the show. Congratulations on that, Gary!

But what Gary didn't do is refute any of the points made by the article. Instead, he's threatened ssdcer with a lawsuit!

I have written a note to the independent counsel for the Sun-Sentinel/Tribune Publications. We were asked specifically by their attorney (after this matter was settled) to inform them of copyright infringement regarding any unauthorized copy and re-publication of their article, and were guaranteed that any such infringements would be pursued with legal action.

I will do the same when I determine the owner of the opinion page.

Of course, Waldman doesn't have the grounds for lawsuit; he doesn't own the copyright, so he has no legal standing in the matter of allegedly plagiarized material.

Now here's the interesting angle on this: if he's planning to sue for defamation of character, he might be able to file against ssdcer and the Herald, but he'd also have to sue the party he's gone to for help: the Sun-Sentinal/Tribune Publications. After all, ssdcer is only quoting the Sun-Sentinel article.

Which, by the way, ssdcer is allowed to do under the "fair use" exclusion in US Copyright Law.

Here are the four considerations for exclusion under Fair Use:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Maybe Gary hasn't been studying copyright law after all. If he had, he'd know that it's perfectly legal to quote published sources with attribution in the manner we find on Christine Dolen's blog.

The thing is, I've never worked with Gary. He doesn't owe me anything. I have no stake in this whatsover. I'm not out to "get him." My agenda is and remains the advancement of theatre in our community.

And in these shaky financial times, another venue opening means more jobs. But those jobs only have value if you get paid for them. I'm not saying "don't work for Gary or Jamison." And I'm not saying "don't see their shows." I will cover them along with every other theatre in South Florida, and on the same terms. And I honestly do hope that they succeed. Successful theatre reflects well on the entire theatre community.

But we do have the right to know who we are dealing with, so we can take appropriate steps to protect our own interests. Prospective employees have the right to know that their prospective employers have defaulted on bonds intended to ensure that their actors and directors get paid. Patrons have a right to know that these producers have left advance ticket holders with no show to see.

And if Gary and Jamison are unhappy about that, well, they have only themselves to blame.