American producer Ken Caillat and writer Steven Stiefel have filed a lawsuit against the creators of the Broadway show Stereophonic, accusing them of plagiarizing their book. Caillat, known for his work on Fleetwood Mac albums such as Rumours, Tusk, and Mirage, co-wrote the memoir Making Rumours with Stiefel in 2012. The book provides an insider’s look at the creation of the iconic 1977 Rumours album, delving into the band’s relationship dramas, endless partying, and the challenges of writing and recording its most famous tracks.
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The lawsuit is directed at Stereophonic, a Broadway hit created by playwright David Adjmi, which won five Tony Awards this year. The play follows a fictional mixed-gender British-American band recording an album in the 1970s and explores the tensions within the group. Critics and audiences have drawn comparisons between the show, Fleetwood Mac, and the recent Daisy Jones & The Six series, which also drew inspiration from the band.
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According to the lawsuit, Caillat alleges that Stereophonic “copies the heart and soul of Making Rumours” and shares a “substantially similar” story arc. The lawsuit claims that the play’s unique studio setting, which is shown from the perspective of sound engineers and producers, mirrors Caillat’s memoir, which offers a behind-the-scenes view from his position at the control booth during the making of Rumours.
The suit also highlights similarities between the character Grover, a sound engineer who is new to the band in Stereophonic, and Caillat’s own experience of joining Fleetwood Mac as a new engineer for Rumours. In the play, Grover is promoted to co-producer, just as Caillat was during the production of the album.
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Further, the lawsuit points out that Adjmi has previously acknowledged reading Making Rumours, calling it an “excellent book,” while insisting that any similarities are “unintentional.” The suit also references Adjmi’s prior accusation of copyright infringement with his play 3C, though that case was dismissed when the show was ruled as a parody of Three’s Company. Caillat, however, argues that Stereophonic is “not a parody or other fair use” of his memoir.
Caillat is seeking unspecified damages, including profits from the production, and claims that Stereophonic is damaging the market for potential adaptations of Making Rumours.
Speaking about the producer’s claims in an interview with The New Yorker last month, Adjmi said: “When writing Stereophonic I drew from multiple sources – including autobiographical details from my own life – to create a deeply personal work of fiction. Any similarities to Ken Caillat’s excellent book are unintentional.”
In that same New Yorker piece, Caillat shared that he felt “ripped off” by the playwright and added: “The connections between the play and Fleetwood Mac and the ‘Rumours’ album are so obvious that multiple news outlets have called out the numerous similarities,” the complaint said. “Simply put, any attempt by Mr Adjmi to disclaim Stereophonic as not being about Fleetwood Mac and ‘Rumours’ is disingenuous.”
Adjmi previously spoke about his inspiration for the play in an interview with Deadline and said: “I know why people are saying, ‘Oh it’s the Fleetwood Mac story,’ but I don’t know Fleetwood Mac. I never met them. You know what I mean? There is no beginning and end to a Fleetwood Mac story. You know, this play is its own invention.”
–-Silviya.Y