How come the rights for Wicked aren't allowed for school but We Will Rock You is?

Question

I've seem comments on youtube on Wicked and We Will Rock You. I love both shows!! And some people have said "I'm playing Killer Queen in my school play" and I have seen a couple of school productions of WWRY. But with Wicked, someone said "I'm Glinda in our school play" and someone replied to her "You're such a liar! How the h**l can you do Wicked at school?! The rights aren't allowed!"

From some people they say Wicked is still going strong round the world and so is WWRY, and Wicked is still going on Broadway and West End, but so is WWRY as well!

No one is allowed to do Mary Poppins at school, no one is allowed to do Wicked at school, no one is allowed to do lion King - which I think would be impossible for a school production, no one is allowed to do Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at school, but yet WWRY is allowed. Why's that?

Answer 1

Wicked is copyrighted.

Mary Poppins is copyrighted.

Lion King is copyrighted.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is copyrighted.

From musicalschwartz.com (for Wicked):

WICKED LICENSING/COPYRIGHT

"We are in the process of negotiating the deal for stock-and-amateur licensing rights to WICKED. Needless to say, I don't expect them to become available for some time, since they are generally not made available until after the Broadway production has closed. If all continues to go well with the Broadway production, that is probably several years away. Sincerely, Stephen Schwartz"

And again from the FAQ

CONCERT OF WICKED

The producers of the show have asked Stephen Schwartz to permit no more than THREE (3) songs from WICKED to be performed in any single event, therefore, a concert version of all the music from WICKED cannot be allowed at this time.

In order to obtain the rights for to perform a musical you have to contact the company that holds them (whether it's DramaSource, Music Theatre Internation, Theatrical Rights Worldwide or whatever) and pay a royalty fee.

Answer 2

The difference appears to be that "Wicked" has an exclusive contract with the union Actors Equity, while "We Will Rock You" does not..

As a union, Actors Equity has an obligation to help union members find work. That employment might potentially be jeopardized by competing, non-union productions

Answer 3

A Broadway/West End show does not usually release rights to amateur groups until 5-7 years after the initial opening.  Some shows take longer due to their popularity.  A Chorus Line took 10 years before amateur rights were released, and it was still playing strong on Broadway.  That being said, there are always exceptions to the rule.  Cry Baby, which is closing soon due to lack of ticket sales, has had a lot of buzz around the College Drama departments, and may be released sooner rather than later.  The authors of WWRY probably decided they could make more money if it was released.