[SML] Severe weather cancellation of performance

[Tim Catlett]

Hello all,

Thank you all for your answers. All is as I suspected, and from whom. I
appreciate it.

As it is, the venue is sticking with the stance that while it is
technically a "Force Majeure" call, they will be refunding all purchasers,
and settling with the artist separately. In the end nobody "wins" and it
will cost both venue and artist something in terms of dollars, and/or
"reputation" (whatever that means when doing your best to preserve life
safety).

For point of reference, by the time of the intended start-of-show, the two
entrances of the venue had interacted personally with a grand total of 37
patrons. The presale was 478, meaning that, effectively, 441 people
"self-cancelled". Interesting, but not surprising, I think.

Anyway, thanks again!

*Tim Catlett*
*(414) 975-4424*
tmcatlett at gmail.com


On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 11:20 PM Richard Niederberg via Stagecraft <
stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> I am not here to ‘Rip Things Apart’. Notwithstanding the weather, how many
> persons showed up? How many persons called your box office and requested an
> exchange? You will most likely have to pay the performer, if you haven't
> already. If he/she is ready to go on, rebook the performer on a mutually
> agreeable date, if you’ve made the payment, and let the potential audience
> use their tickets that night. No refunds, rain checks, or exchanges except
> for the above. Put the show on, unless it would create liability for the
> theatre or booking agent, or owner. If this sounds  “It Depends”, it is. No
> Legalese. Fortunately, I have not undertaken this case. It is all about
> liability.
>
> /s/ Richard Niederberg, Esq.
> _________
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 30, 2025 at 4:44 PM Kristi R-C via Stagecraft <
> stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:
>
>> I’m not a lawyer, probably should have become one when the college’s
>> attorney told me I’d be good at it but now the ROI is not worth 3 years in
>> law school. So here’s what this overeducated layperson thinks...
>>
>> If the local municipal authorities (e.g., governor, mayor, town council,
>> law enforcement) have told folks to stay off the roads because it’s not
>> safe (not just the weather guy on TV) I suspect a claim of Force Majeure
>> will hold, but it’s technically an “Act of God” since it’s Mother Nature’s
>> fault so if the presiding jurisdiction treats them the same, you should be
>> fine. Are there places that treat it differently? I don’t know. Maybe? I do
>> know that kind of hair-splitting definition parsing makes lawyers giggle
>> with glee.
>>
>> If you were to go to court as the hosting venue, you would show that you
>> lost ticket revenue, box office expenses (credit card charge fees),
>> advertising expenses, wage for staff/stagehands who pre-set items, wages
>> for anyone in the building already if it was cancelled the day of, etc. to
>> show you also had a loss similar to what the Artist is missing by not being
>> paid for the show.
>>
>> Best option for all sides is to postpone the event to a mutually
>> agreeable date and try again.
>>
>> Now, let’s see how Richard Niederberg rips this apart. ;)
>>
>> Kristi R-C
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> For list information see <http://stagecraft.theprices.net/>
>> Stagecraft mailing list
>> Stagecraft at theatrical.net
>> http://theatrical.net/mailman/listinfo/stagecraft_theatrical.net
>>
> ____________________________________________________________
> For list information see <http://stagecraft.theprices.net/>
> Stagecraft mailing list
> Stagecraft at theatrical.net
> http://theatrical.net/mailman/listinfo/stagecraft_theatrical.net
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://theatrical.net/pipermail/stagecraft_theatrical.net/attachments/20260105/0eed140f/attachment.html>