A comedian in Australia was forced to halt and rework a musical show based on the exploits of infamous Olympic breaker Rachael “Raygun” Gunn after being threatened with legal action, for The Associated Press.
Stephanie Broadbridge was set to premiere Raygun: The Musical at a comedy club in Sydney last week, but the show was called off hours before its scheduled start after Gunn's lawyers contacted the venue. According to Broadbridge, Gunn's lawyers told her that they'd trademarked the poster for the musical (which featured a silhouette of Gunn dancing) and said they were concerned that Broadbridge was “damaging” Gunn's brand. (Broadbridge denied she would ever do that, adding, “She doesn't need me to do that.”)
According to Broadbridge, Gunn's lawyers also forbade her from doing Raygun's infamous kangaroo dance, which Gunn apparently owns. “That one did puzzle me,” Broadbridge quipped. “I mean, that's an Olympic level dance. How would I possibly be able to do that without any formal break dancing training?”
Gunn, for her part, said her lawyers stepped out of concern the public would associate her with the musical. She also cleared up some of the trademark issues, saying she owns the rights to her name and her “famous kangaroo silhouette pose” but denied any ownership of the kangaroo dance itself. (She said the reason she trademarked the silhouette was “because we were notified other parties applied to trademark my name and image for commercial purposes.”)
One week after the cancellation though, it appears the dispute has been settled. In a much more magnanimous statement, Broadbridge announced that she'd changed the name of the show to “Breaking: The Musical,” and the poster now features a silhouette of a dancing kangaroo, as well as the tag-line, “A completely legal parody musical.”
Broadbridge also acknowledged that she did not contact Gunn before creating the title and poster for the show and stated: “It was never my intention to mislead people into thinking that she was involved in the production.” She added: “I am deeply sorry to learn that Raygun has faced negative backlash as a result of the media attention around the cancellation of the preview for the musical. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to experience hate or distress from this situation.”
Gunn, meanwhile, said she and her legal team had “resolved everything,” adding, “[Broadbridge] still gets to go ahead with the musical, she's got a new name, new poster, and she still gets to take that show on the road. So I'm really happy for her, and I wish her all the best with the show and with the tour… I really do strive to support creativity and have loved the ways my performance has sparked so many different artistic interpretations, and there was so many fantastic memes that were clever, and funny and creative.”
Gunn also denied earlier reports that she tried to get $10,000 AUD (about $6,230 USD) from Broadbridge for the use of her name and likeness. “We have not sought any costs from all this,” Gunn said.
Broadbridge, for her part, will now open Breaking: The Musical next year. A run in Adelaide is scheduled for late February and early March, after which she'll play Melbourne in April and Sydney in May.
