Tams-Witmark

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TAMS-WITMARK MUSIC LIBRARY, INC. One of the largest licensing organizations for so-called "stock and amateur" productions of Broadway musicals and plays. Stock and amateur rights refers to the right to produce the show at non-professional and/or non-actors equity venues such as summer stock playhouses, High Schools and Colleges. it is distinct from so-called "first calss" rights which cover Broadway engagements and the major touring engagements that follow the initial Broadway engagement; and so-called "second class" rights which include major touring engagements that employ either no (a "non-union" run) or few (a "hybrid" run) members of actors equity.

Other companies in this segment include Music Theater International (MTI), owned by movie producer Freddie Gershon, the Walt Disney corporation and famed British producer Cameron MacKintosh; and The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization (RHO), whih is owned by the heirs to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. MTI controls rights to Disney shows such as High School Musical, and MacKintosh productions such as Les Misérables, while RHO controls the rights to the famous Rodgers and Hammerstein canon and the shows of Irving Berlin, among others.

Contents

[edit] History

Arthur W. Tams, Inc. began business in approximately 1870 as a music, and later musical play, licensing and rental house. The Tams company reportedly controlled the largest collection of cantatas, oratorios and masses as well as the works of John Philip Sousa and Franz Lehar among others.

Tams-Witmark Music Library, Inc. was formed in January 1925 through the merger of the Arthur W. Tams Music Library and the Isadore Witmark Music Library. These two companies represented the two largest collections of printed and manuscript music then existing. The Witmark organization controlled the works of such renowned composers as Victor Herbert and Reginald DeKoven.

In the fifteen years following the consolidation (until World War II), Tams-Witmark added to its collection works by George and Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter, as well as the works of Jerome Kern, Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse, including the famous Princess Theatre musicals. These works included ANYTHING GOES, which was later revived in 1962 and 1987, and GIRL CRAZY, which became the inspiration for the musical CRAZY FOR YOU. ANYTHING GOES and CRAZY FOR YOU remain among Tams-Witmark's most popular musicals.

In the years following World War II, Tams-Witmark added several of the greatest musicals of that era, including BRIGADOON, FINIAN'S RAINBOW and KISS ME, KATE. The Library grew considerably in the late 1950s and 1960's with the addition of such works from Broadway's Golden Age as the Tony Award-winning musicals MY FAIR LADY, BYE BYE BIRDIE, HELLO, DOLLY!, CABARET and MAN OF LA MANCHA. The Tams-Witmark collection continued to expand in the 1970s and 1980's with two of the longest-running musicals in Broadway history, A CHORUS LINE and FORTY-SECOND STREET, and in the 1990s with four Tony Award-winning musicals, THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES, CRAZY FOR YOU, TITANIC and CITY OF ANGELS.

Tams-Witmark licensed the first high school production of a Broadway musical approximately 75 years ago to James Monroe High School in New York City, which performed the operetta ROBIN HOOD. Later, in the 1930s, it created the market for the licensing of musicals to schools and other amateur groups. Today, thousands of schools and community theatres are presenting Tams-Witmark musicals each year.

Tams-Witmark was responsible for the creation of several current musicals from popular musical motion pictures. They include the MGM motion picture version of THE WIZARD OF OZ, first produced on stage by the Municipal Theatre of St. Louis in 1942, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS, first produced on stage by the Municipal Theatre of St. Louis in 1960, and CALAMITY JANE!, first produced on stage by Casa Mañana Musicals in 1961. Tams-Witmark was also responsible for the creation of the musical GEORGE M!, produced on Broadway in 1968.

[edit] Shows Represented

Tams-Witmark controls the stock and amateur rights, and in some cases the first-class revival rights, for the following shows as of January, 2008:

A

AMERICAN OPERAS ANYTHING GOES (1962) ANYTHING GOES (BEAUMONT, 1987) APPLAUSE
B
BABES IN TOYLAND BAKER STREET BARNUM BELLS ARE RINGING BEST FOOT FOWARD BILLION DOLLAR BABY BITTER SWEET BLOOMER GIRL BRIGADOON BRING BACK BIRDIE BYE BYE BIRDIE
C
CABARET CALAMITY JANE CAMELOT CAN-CAN CARNIVAL! A CHORUS LINE CINDY CITY OF ANGELS THE CRADLE WILL ROCK CRAZY FOR YOU

D
DEAR WORLD THE DESERT SONG DESTRY RIDES AGAIN DO RE MI DREAMGIRLS DROOD (THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD) DU BARRY WAS A LADY

F
FADE OUT- FADE IN FANNY FIFTY MILLION FRENCHMEN FINIAN'S RAINBOW FORTY-SECOND STREET FUNNY GIRL

G
GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES GEORGE M! GIFT OF THE MAGI GIGI GILBERT AND SULLIVAN OPERETTAS GIRL CRAZY THE GOLDEN APPLE GOOD NEWS THE GREAT WALTZ GYPSY

H
HAIR HALLELUJAH, BABY! HAPPIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD HAZEL FLAGG HELLO, DOLLY! HIGH BUTTON SHOES HIGH SOCIETY HIGH SPIRITS HIT THE DECK

I
I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE ILLYA DARLING IRENE IRMA LA DOUCE IT'S A BIRD, ITS A PLANE, ITS SUPERMAN

J
JAMAICA

K
KISS ME, KATE (Original 1948) KISS ME, KATE (Revised 1999)

L
LADY, BE GOOD! LEAVE IT TO JANE LEAVE IT TO ME THE LIFE LI'L ABNER LITTLE JOHNNY JONES LITTLE ME LORELEI

M
MAME MAN OF LA MANCHA MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS THE MERRY WIDOW MESHUGGAH-NUNS! MILK AND HONEY MY FAIR LADY MY ONE AND ONLY

N
NAUGHTY MARIETTA THE NEW MOON NO, NO, NANETTE NUNCRACKERS - THE NUNSENSE CHRISTMAS MUSICAL NUNSENSATIONS! NUNSENSE JAMBOREE - SISTER AMNESIA'S COUNTRY WESTERN NUNSENSE JAMBOREE NUNSENSE II - THE SECOND COMING

O
OH! BOY OH CAPTAIN! OH, KAY! OLIVER! ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER ON THE TOWN 110 IN THE SHADE OUT OF THIS WORLD

P
PAINT YOUR WAGON PANAMA HATTIE PROMISES, PROMISES

R
THE RED MILL RIO RITA THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT, THE SMELL OF THE CROWD ROBERTA ROSALIE ROSALINDA ROSE-MARIE

S
SALAD DAYS SALLY SAY, DARLING THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL SILK STOCKINGS SNOOPY!!! SONG OF NORWAY STOP THE WORLD - I WANT TO GET OFF THE STUDENT PRINCE SUGAR SUNNY SWEET CHARITY SWEETHEARTS

T
TAKE ME ALONG THE THREE MUSKETEERS TIP TOES TITANIC - THE MUSICAL TOP BANANA TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA

V
THE VAGABOND KING VERY GOOD EDDIE VICTOR/VICTORIA

W
THE WAYWARD WAY WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN? WHOOPEE! WILDCAT THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES THE WIZARD OF OZ (MUNY) THE WIZARD OF OZ (RSC) WONDERFUL TOWN

Y
YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN (REVISED)

YOUR OWN THING

[edit] Current - Officers

Earlier located at 1600 Broadway between 48th and 49th streets, Tams re-located in 1916 to 1650 Broadway. Tams moved to their new, custom-built office building, 318-320 West 46th St. NYC, in July, 1921. They are currently located at 560 Lexington Ave., New York, NY.

Current executives of Tams-Witmark include:

  • Sargent Aborn, President;
  • Robert A. Hut, Executive Vice president; and
  • Kenny Duffy, Vice President (also Sargent Aborn's brother-in-law).

Sargent Aborn's father, Louis H. Aborn, who passed away in 2005 at the age of 93, was previously the president of Tams-Witmark, as was his father before him, also Sargent Aborn. The elder Sargent Aborn was the founder of the Aborn Opera company in 1903.

[edit] Sources