Editing Rent (musical) (section)

==Lynn Thomson lawsuit==
Lynn Thomson was a [[dramaturge]] who was hired by New York Theatre Workshop to help rework ''Rent''. She claimed that between early May and the end of October 1995, she and Larson co-wrote a "new version" of the musical, and that she had a verbal agreement with Larson to a percentage of the royalties. She sued Jonathan Larson's estate for $40 million and sought 16 percent of the show's royalties, ultimately losing that suit. A revised suit claiming she had written a significant portion of the lyrics and the libretto of the "new version" of ''Rent'' was filed later. The estate settled out of court.<ref name="dramaturgy">{{cite web|url=http://openjurist.org/147/f3d/195/thomson-v-s-larson|title=147 f3d 195 Thomson v. S Larson|access-date=July 7, 2014|publisher=OpenJurist.com|year=1998|volume=F3d|issue=147|page=195|archive-date=July 14, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714141903/http://openjurist.org/147/f3d/195/thomson-v-s-larson|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the trial, according to a partner in the firm representing the Larson estate, Thomson could not recall the lyrics to the songs that she allegedly wrote, nor the structures of the libretto she claimed to have created.<ref name = Playbill97>{{cite web|url = http://www.playbill.com/article/rent-dramaturg-suit-dismissed-com-71067|title = Rent Dramaturg Suit Dismissed|last = Lefkowitz|first = David|website = [[Playbill]]|date = July 23, 1997|access-date = July 23, 2018|archive-date = July 24, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180724062659/http://www.playbill.com/article/rent-dramaturg-suit-dismissed-com-71067|url-status = live}}</ref> The judge ruled against her and gave Larson's estate full credit and right to ''Rent''. A federal appellate court upheld the original ruling on appeal. In the judgement, the court ruled against Thomson saying "she had brought the wrong suit." Thomson had sued over a verbal agreement she claimed to have with Larson, which she could not prove. However, the court stated in the judgment that her claim to have written some of the material in RENT, including the lyrics to the song "Glory," was credible and that she had standing to sue for ownership of some of the material in RENT. She filed suit with revised claims. In August 1998, the case was settled out of court. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/10/theater/family-of-rent-creator-settles-suit-over-authorship.html|title = Family of 'Rent' Creator Settles Suit Over Authorship|last = McKinley|first = Jesse|date = September 10, 1998|website = [[The New York Times]]|access-date = July 23, 2018|archive-date = July 24, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180724063031/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/10/theater/family-of-rent-creator-settles-suit-over-authorship.html|url-status = live}}</ref>

Part of the issue of this case concerns the development of the field of [[Dramaturgy#:~:text=Dramaturgy is the study of,of drama on the stage.|Dramaturgy]]. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Everything is Rent {{!}} Articles |url=https://www.angelfire.com/in2/everythingisrent/articles/americantheatre5.html |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=www.angelfire.com}}</ref>