Cast members of “The Right Girl" perform over Zoom
When Louisette Geiss filed a class action lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein three years ago, accusing him of sexual harassment, she did not get the closure she had hoped for.
The screenwriter instead turned to her art for an unusual remedy, writing a musical production about her ordeal at the hands of the disgraced movie mogul.
“I know we had our day in court, but I wanted to give the women the last word and a way of reclaiming our own stories,” Ms Geiss said. “I could just feel myself being taken down under the weight of it all and this was something that would flip the script.”
The Right Girl, a semi-fictionalised account of the abuse suffered by Ms Geiss and the other victims of Weinstein, premiered last week over Zoom before a socially distanced theatre audience, and received rave reviews. Ms Geiss told The Telegraph they are now looking to give it the “Hamilton treatment” — filming a performance with a full cast that could be distributed more widely.
Louisette Geiss speaks at press conference In Los Angeles after guilty verdict In Harvey Weinstein trial
Credit: Getty
The musical portrays the journey of Eleanor Stark, a chief executive of a well-known film studio who is confronted with the revelation that one of its respected male bosses has been harassing women.
That leaves Miss Stark to work out what role she must play: does she protect the industry’s dirtiest secret, or will she be “the right girl” and speak out?
Ms Geiss drew heavily from the testimonies of more than 25 women, most of whom victims of Weinstein, but a handful of other well-known figures too.
“Only portions of their stories have been recounted in the press to date,” she said. “So some of it will be new. I think it will be pretty cathartic, for the women and for people watching.”
The former actress, who was the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, also drew on her own experience of being sexually harassed by Weinstein at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008, after he invited her to pitch him a film script. She was made to watch as he masturbated in front of her before she fled the room.
The stories of more than two dozen abuse survivors feature in Geiss's musical
Credit: Getty
“It wasn’t even the first time something like that had happened to me, but I made sure it was the last,” Ms Geiss told the Telegraph from her home in Santa Monica. She left the business soon after to become a real estate agent.
Weinstein, 68, was sentenced to 23 years in prison by a New York court and ordered to pay $19 million (£14m) to his victims, a “derisory” amount which was rejected by their lawyers.
It was not until 2017 that Ms Geiss came forward with her story, which became one of many that helped spark the #MeToo movement that engulfed Hollywood. Similar sexual abuse allegations have since been made against powerful men around the world, in a phenomenon referred to as the "Weinstein effect".
Some critics have questioned whether musical theatre is the right medium for such a serious topic.
Harvey Weinstein departs New York State Supreme Court following a third of jury deliberation in his sexual assault trial
Credit: Shutterstock
“Musicals aren’t all light-hearted, they can tackle challenging subjects, like war and illness,“ Ms Geiss retorted. ”I mean look at The Producers, it was about Nazi Germany, or Sweeney Todd even. I’ve always said, singing is just pretty screaming. That’s really what the women are doing here.”
The show features ballads including “We Want More” and the more up-tempo “You F***ed with the Wrong Girl.” She said that she and other survivors “understood that it was almost our duty to share our stories,” and described the process of writing as “reclaiming a creative spirit” that had been crushed by Weinstein and other “predators”.
Ms Geiss said people have since come to her with their own stories of abuse that they had long kept to themselves. She hopes the musical will give others the courage to speak out. The production features music by Diane Warren, an 11-time Oscar nominee, and is directed and choreographed by Tony Award winner Susan Stroman.
The producers have set up a royalty pool for the two-dozen women featured to share in the show’s profits if it ends up making money. “We’ll give them something back as opposed to consistently just taking from these women,” said Ms Geiss. “It’s the least we owe them.”
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