Raygun: The Musical is on ice, with Australian comedian Steph Broadbridge’s parody show shut down by the Australian Olympic breakdancer and her lawyers before it could debut.
The musical exploring Rachael Gunn’s journey to Paris 2024 was set for a trial show on Saturday night at the Kinselas Hotel in Sydney.
But the morning began with Broadbridge sharing that the show had been “cancelled”.
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Broadbridge was hoping her musical would turn just as viral as its source, with plans to take it to Adelaide before unleashing it on the Sydney, Melbourne and Edinburgh comedy festivals.
The script contains songs such as You May Be a B-girl But You’ll Always Be an A-girl To Me, and I’m Breaking Down and the intriguing I Would Have Won But I Pulled a Muscle.
“Raygun’s lawyers got in touch with the venue and threatened legal action so we will be refunding everyone their $10 or comp ticket back for that,” Broadbridge said on Saturday.
Broadbridge had promoted the musical in Australian Olympic-styled gear complete with a green and gold cap, while Raygun’s trademarked kangaroo dance was on the poster.
“Her lawyers trademarked my poster, which is flattering. I hope they do something fun with that,” the comedian said.
“They were also worried that I was damaging her brand, which I would never do. She doesn’t need me to do that.
“They were very concerned that people would think Rachael Gunn was affiliated with the musical. I want to assure everyone she will not be part of the show. She is very welcome to come, I would love her for to see it.”
Broadbridge deadpanned that she was not able to attempt the kangaroo dance herself.
“They also said I wasn’t allowed to do the dance because she owns the kangaroo dance. That one did puzzle me,” she said.
“That’s an Olympic-level dance, how would I possibly be able to do that without any formal breakdancing training?
“Anyway, to alleviate the concerns of Raygun’s lawyers I will be changing the name of the character to ‘Raigun’ with an i. I hope that fixes everyone’s concerns.”
Raygun’s talent agency Born Bred issued a statement about Broadbridge’s musical on Saturday.
“We would like to clarify that Rachael Gunn’s management and legal team is committed to protecting her intellectual property and ensuring that her brand remains strong and respected,” Born Bred said.
“While we have immense respect for the credible work and effort that has gone into the development of the show, we must take necessary steps to safeguard Rachael’s creative rights and the integrity of her work.
“This action is not intended to diminish the contributions of others, but rather to ensure her brand is properly represented and protected in all future endeavours.”
Raygun has previously celebrated impersonations of her dance to the extent that she backed a competition to find the best kangaroo performance.
But the academic recently hinted at concerns around the use of her image when she said it was “totally wild” to see herself appear on Christmas decorations.
“I love all of the creativity, and the interpretations and the things that it has sparked off,” Raygun said at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.
“I have already seen Christmas decorations, I’ve seen a Raygun nutcracker and Raygun baubles … some of these are really nice and I want some.
“If they’re gonna use my image to use these beautiful things, can they at least give me some free copies and maybe some royalties?”
Raygun was originally spotted as a Halloween skeleton while the dance has been used by American NFL players to celebrate touchdowns.
In a recent interview on Channel 7, she admitted she had come along way since working in a call centre many years ago.
She said that she never imagined that she would make such a huge impact all over the world.
“No way, no way,” Raygun said.
She said she was a little worried heading into the Olympics because she knew that her “approach was different to everyone else’s”, but the global reaction was not on her radar.
“I think the initial reaction a lot of people were confused by what they were seeing,” she said.
“They didn’t understand what they were seeing. You know, they thought it was really funny. And I think there was that initial kind of knee-jerk reaction that people had.
“And then once they’ve started, if they had dug deeper, if they had watched more than the 22nd highlight clip and actually watched all six performances, then they might see that actually there’s a little bit more here, and maybe I was a little bit quick to judge.
“And so, you know, to begin with, you know, I had to focus on my mental health and I had to also wait for the dust to settle a little bit.
“So, you know, it’s being able to talk about it in a positive light and give a platform to other dancers because there are so many amazing dancers out there.”
