Lawsuit Filed Against Broadway’s Baby It’s You on Behalf of Beverly Lee of The Shirelles, Dionne Warwick, and Others
Erica Ash, and Christina Sajous in Baby It’s You
(© Ari Mintz)
The law firm Baker Hostetler has filed a complaint in the Supreme Court of the State of New York seeking damages on behalf of performers Beverly Lee of The Shirelles, Dionne Warwick and Chuck Jackson, as well as the Estates of Doris Coley Jackson and Addie Harris Jackson, for the unauthorized use of their names and likenesses in connection with the new Broadway musical, Baby, It’s You, which opens tonight, April 27 at the Broadhurst Theatre.
The musical tells the story of Florence Greenberg, the woman who discovered The Shirelles and created Scepter Records, becoming the music industry’s first female powerhouse. It is conceived by Floyd Mutrux, directed by Mutrux and Sheldon Epps, and written by Mutrux and Colin Escott, with musical supervision and arrangements by Rahn Coleman, orchestrations by Don Sebesky and musical direction by Shelton Becton.
Tony Award winner Beth Leavel stars as Florence Greenberg, along with Erica Ash, Kelli Barrett, Kyra Da Costa, Erica Dorfler, Geno Henderson, Jahi A. Kearse, Allan Louis, Barry Pearl, Christina Sajous, Crystal Starr and Brandon Uranowitz.
The complaint alleges that the producers of the musical, Warner Bros. Theater Ventures, Inc., Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Broadway Baby, LLC., have promoted the musical publicly as “The Shirelles’ Musical” and based the play upon the life and career of The Shirelles, as well as the biographical details of Warwick and Jackson.
A spokesperson for Warner Bros. has said that they are not yet in receipt of the lawsuit, so have no comment at this time.
