This course will cover legal issues in theater by discussing the career and work of the legendary Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. It will explore entertainment law principles by delving into incidents from throughout Lloyd Webber’s career. These include securing the “grand rights” to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat over the objections of the record producer, challenging the casting rules of Actors’ Equity Association so that Sarah Brightman could star in Phantom of the Opera, resolving a legal challenge from Patti LuPone for contract infringement after she was denied the opportunity to star in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway, being accused of copyright infringement multiple times, suing the producer of a canceled production of Jesus Christ Superstar for costs, and taking legal action against COVID-19 restrictions affecting live performances.
Continuing Legal Education: 1 CLE credit for attorneys (Professional Practice). Approved for Non-Transitional and Transitional Attorneys.
Instructor: Matthew A. Windman, Esq., Associate, McCarter & English, LLP
Matthew Windman is an attorney focused on corporate, securities, and business transactions law.
Prior to joining McCarter & English, Matthew worked at a law firm in New York City where he represented municipal corporations and private entities in all aspects of pre-trial litigation and managed complex cases involving class action claims, mass torts, insurance coverage, product liability, environmental law, and defamation.
He is actively involved with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, through which he has provided pro bono legal services to writers and theater artists and presented CLE seminars.
Matthew’s articles have been published in the New York Law Journal and numerous other publications. He has written about theater for the newspaper amNewYork since 2004 and is a member of the New York Drama Critics Circle and Drama Desk Association. In 2016, his book The Critics Say…57 Theater Reviewers in New York and Beyond Discuss Their Craft and Its Future was published by McFarland.
Matthew received his BA from New York University, where he studied theater, literature, and journalism. He received his JD from New York Law School where he was the Senior Editor of the New York Law School Review.