The esteemed 68-year-old composer of the music used in the Broadway show Cats sent a letter to the creators of the new Katdashians musical. The show is essentially a parody of the famous reality television family with elements from the classic Cats musical.
Webber’s lawyers say the show has “continued willfull infringement” of his rights and will claim damages. The claim states the off-Broadway parody is using the tunes of no less than six of Webber’s songs from the iconic Cats.
The legal letter also states, “It is clear that the production is not a parody of Cats. Our client’s property is being extensively misappropriated to parody another subject matter entirely.”
The Katdashians co-creator Tobly McSmith describes the show as “the story of a clan of internet famous cats torn apart by Fame, Family, and Friskies.”
He recently told New York Post’s Page Six, “We were pretty shocked. We are fans of Webber and his work… We thought he’d enjoy the parodies we did of his songs, but apparently he did not.”
A lawyer for McSmith’s said, “While we disagree with [Lloyd Webber’s] position, it would be foolish to burden the court, but we are inviting all judges to see the show for free and decide on their own.”
A representative for Webber’s Really Useful Group recently said, “We are pleased that the producers of the Katdashians are cooperating in removing copyrighted material from their show. If you want to hear Memory live this summer, it looks like you’ll have to go to Broadway, but it won’t be performed by a Katdashian, whatever that is.”