Garth Drabinsky is probably the most infamous name on Broadway right now thanks to Paradise Square. Whilst all the Broadway drama seems focused on Funny Girl, this is where it should be - drama of the highest order. It's difficult to judge the quality of Paradise Square as a show as there has been no cast recording, but it's a shame for them that the show has been eclipsed by scandal, particularly for a piece of new writing. There's a clip above of some fabulous choreography well worth watching - don't let the story to follow put you off the show!
Admittedly, the show has closed - it closed very dramatically in July 2022, with only a few days notice. Subsequently, a lot of the creatives filed a lawsuit against producer Garth Drabinsky, citing lack of payment. This would be bad under any circumstances, but it's particularly egregious here, because it turned out that Drabinsky has a lot of form in this regard - there is no way that he should have been allowed to produce another show. West End and Broadway legend Rebecca Caine had publicly warned as much when news broke that he was taking on the show - his previous theatrical endeavours had ended not only with no payment, but with a 7 year jail sentence for forgery and fraud.
The fact that he was able to produce again and hurt so many people again is beyond awful - he has since been added to Equity's do not work list, but this comes too late for those he worked with on Paradise Square. However, the initial court proceedings - to which he didn't show up - set a fascinating precedent. If Drabinsky doesn't make good on his payments, the rights to Paradise Square will pass on to those unpaid designers, making Paradise Square the show with probably the most interesting rights situation in Broadway history, even it does illuminate some of the most unethical working practices to grace Broadway at the same time.
