In light of the cancellation of Jesus Christ Superstar earlier this summer, Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s Really Useful Group will be suing co-producer Michael Cohl’s Options Clause Entertainment for what seems to be a loss in profit from ticket sales.
According to Deadline Hollywood, the lawsuit against the extensive tour--hundreds of performances in big name venues like Madison Square Garden in New York and the Staples Center in Los Angeles--has become a reality: “The Really Useful Group (RUG) has no option but to proceed with legal action to recover its costs associated with the project and in turn, satisfy outstanding payments to suppliers and contractors.”
Cohl, the man behind one of Broadway's most recent disappointments, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, remarked that Jesus Christ Superstar was at nearly eight figures cost-wise and would have to produce at least six figures worth of profit at every performance to make ends meet.
“It became obvious the shows were in trouble, but we tried until the last moment to give it every chance to turn around. In the end, it just did not make business sense to continue,” Cohl told the New York Times in an email.
Unfortunately, it seems Cohl agreed to finance all of the U.S. tour expenses under Options Clause Entertainment’s belt. And Cohl has not been able to settle out-of-court for said expenses with RUG and Webber, who are looking out for all of the people involved--actors, set crew, promoters, etc. who were all suddenly left unemployed.
No, Mr. Cohl, everything is not alright.
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