Posted on 09/25/2004 6:09:46 PM PDT by nuconvert
Tony-Nominated Playwright Bryony Lavery Accused of Plagiarism
Sam Dolnick/ Associated Press Writer
Sep 25, 2004
NEW YORK (AP) - English playwright Bryony Lavery has been accused of plagiarizing passages from a criminal psychiatrist and a magazine writer in her Tony Award-nominated play about a serial killer and his psychiatrist. Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis and Malcolm Gladwell of The New Yorker said they had found at least 12 instances of plagiarism in "Frozen," which earned a Tony nomination for best play this year.
Biographical and thematic details had also been taken from a New Yorker profile Gladwell wrote about Lewis in 1997 and from Lewis' 1998 book "Guilty by Reason of Insanity," the two charged.
"I was staggered by this," Lewis told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. She said that when she read the script she found "page after page, paragraph after paragraph" based on her life and work, including dialogue and personal anecdotes.
Lewis said that she had turned down offers from other people seeking the rights to her story or book. "I wasn't ready to do that yet," she said.
One passage in Gladwell's article, quoting Lewis, allegedly is included almost verbatim in Lavery's play. It reads, in part: "I just don't believe people are born evil. To my mind that is mindless. Forensic psychiatrists tend to buy into the notion of evil. I felt that that's no explanation."
For the play's character Agnetha, a criminal psychologist, Lewis charged Lavery used several biographical details from "Guilty by Reason of Insanity."
"If you look at the incidents in the play, you'll see every one of them comes from the book or the article," said Lewis' lawyer, Martin Garbus.
The charges were first reported in Saturday's editions of The New York Times.
Chris Boneau, a spokesman for MCC Theater, told the Times that Lavery was not available for comment.
"Attorneys have been engaged, the discussions are amicable, and we expect a resolution," Boneau said in a statement. He did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.
Lewis has asked for a public announcement of the alleged plagiarism, credit in advertisements for the play and a monetary settlement including a portion of film or television revenues.
"Even the slightest mention would be great," said Gladwell, who said he supports Lewis' charge. Lewis, a professor at the Yale University Child Study Center, could not be reached Saturday.
"Frozen" opened in New York last March at off-Broadway's East 13th Street Theatre. It transferred to Broadway in May and closed in August.
It lost the best play Tony to "I Am My Own Wife."
Fraud and deceit!!!
Has anyone asked Joe Biden about this yet?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.