Julius (Charles Hargrave), Leo (Tim Keo) & Rusty (Valerie C. Kilmer) Talespinner Childern's Theatre (2015) Steve Wagner Photography |
There has been a lot of talk lately about copyright, following the Blurred Lines decision … actually, whenever the subject of the Blurred Lines decision comes up, the conversation is generally high-jacked by people who just want to keep emphasizing what a terrible song Blurred Lines is.But do not think we stole these tales
For that would make us thieves.
- from "Rosalynde & The Falcon"
The fact is, copyright is a bizarre legal concept when it
comes to art, imitation and appropriation. The Blurred Lines verdict is bad, because it imposed a penalty based on a
mood or feeling - a groove, if you will - and not on any specifically defined melody.
Rosalynde (Rose Leisner) & Roland (Ryan Hardge) Culver City Public Theatre (2019) |
In Rosalynde & The Falcon which opened this weekend at
Talespinner Children’s Theatre, there is a running gag about copyright
violation (I know, right?) in which one character, after mentioning a familiar
song title, begins to sing that song but gets interrupted with the warning
“Copyright!” before reaching the legally-punishable third note.
In the spirit of full disclosure, the text of Rosalynde
& The Falcon includes samples from or allusions to the following works and artists. See if you can find all of them:
UPDATE: Culver City Public Theatre presents Rosalynde & The Falcon in Carlson Park, July 13 - August 4, 2019- Rosalynde by Thomas Lodge
- Gamelyn by Geoffrey Chaucer
- William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Julius Caesar, Macbeth and King Lear
- Sneewittchen AKA Snowdrop AKA Snow White
- Goldilocks
- Robin Hood
- Little Red Riding Hood
- Lewis Carroll
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Woody Allen
- Cole Porter
- Jack Kerouac
- MC Hammer
- Battlestar Galactica*
- The Firesign Theatre
"You may want to sneak back to see it again ... just to make sure you caught all the jokes." - Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene
*Further update: We had actually cut the "Battlestar Galactica" joke before the show premiered in 2015. You be the judge:
RUSTY: President Rosalynde!
LEO: (aside) "All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again."
JULIUS: (aside) Mister J.M. Barrie.