‘Vape’ is the word: U.S. judge allows ‘Grease’ parody

NEW YORK, Might 12 (Reuters) – A U.S. decide on Thursday dominated that “Vape: The Musical,” which mocks the blockbuster 1978 movie “Grease,” amounted to truthful use and didn’t infringe the rights of homeowners of the “Grease” copyright.

Chief Decide Laura Taylor Swain of the Manhattan federal court docket mentioned Sketchworks Industrial Power Comedy, the Atlanta troupe that created “Vape,” remodeled “Grease” by updating it for the #MeToo period and exposing its misogynistic tendencies.

Written in 1971, “Grease” ran on Broadway from 1972 to 1980, whereas the movie starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

“Grease” depicts the ups-and-downs of relationships between Danny Zuko and Sandy Olsson (Dumbrowski within the musical) and amongst their associates, as they navigate senior 12 months at fictional Rydell Excessive Faculty within the late Nineteen Fifties.

“Vape” had the identical characters and an identical story.

However it had many variations, together with by utilizing millennial slang, highlighting how the teenage characters randomly burst into tune and dance and “seemed no less than 30,” altering “Greased Lightnin'” to “Prius Lightning” and faulting the “glad ending” the place Sandy underwent a radical makeover to win Danny’s coronary heart.

In a 22-page resolution, Swain mentioned that by conserving the “Grease” characters and plot arc whereas altering the script and lyrics, “Vape” “feedback on how misogynistic tendencies have each advanced since ‘Grease’ was developed and stay the identical.”

She distinguished the case from a March 2021 appeals court docket resolution that Andy Warhol violated federal copyright regulation by drawing on {a photograph} of Prince for a collection of photographs of the rock star, as a result of the photographs weren’t transformative.

“Right here, in distinction, ‘Vape,’ when thought-about holistically, constitutes a parody of ‘Grease’ … and thus constitutes truthful use,” Swain wrote.

Sketchworks sued after the defendants, representing “Grease” co-authors Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, despatched a cease-and-desist letter, forcing the August 2019 cancellation of performances of “Vape” in Manhattan.

A lawyer for the defendants didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

Sketchworks plans to stage “Vape” in Atlanta and different cities quickly. “We stood up for what we believed-what we knew-was proper,” co-owner Brian Troxell mentioned in a press release. “The fitting to parody is simply too necessary to not battle for.”

The Supreme Court docket will take into account the Warhol dispute in its 2022-2023 time period. learn extra

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York
Enhancing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio

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