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Hartford Stage has filed a lawsuit against producer Joey Parnes and his affiliated companies, alleging breach of contract and failure to make required payments related to the development of KISS MY AZTEC!, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. The news was first reported by Philip Boroff/Broadway Journal.
The complaint, filed December 1, 2025, names Joseph William Parnes, Aztec Broadway LLC, and Joey Parnes Productions LLC as defendants. Hartford Stage alleges the defendants failed to pay required enhancement funds under a series of agreements tied to the Hartford Stage production of KISS MY AZTEC!, a musical with a book by John Leguizamo and Tony Taccone.
According to the filing, Hartford Stage and Aztec Broadway LLC entered into an enhancement agreement in November 2021 under which Aztec Broadway agreed to provide enhancement funding to support the production. The agreement was later amended in March 2022 and again in January 2023, extending payment deadlines and adding personal and corporate guarantees from Parnes and Joey Parnes Productions LLC.
The complaint states that as of the second amendment, defendants had paid $900,000 toward their obligations. Hartford Stage alleges that the defendants failed to make a $150,000 payment due April 1, 2023, as well as a final payment due June 1, 2023. The theater claims that repeated demands for payment did not cure the alleged defaults.
Hartford Stage is seeking damages in excess of $457,957.90, exclusive of interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees. The complaint also asks the court to enforce provisions in the agreements allowing for prejudgment remedies without a prior court order, based on waivers included in the amended contracts.
The lawsuit asserts claims for breach of contract and breach of guaranty and seeks damages, interest, attorneys’ fees, and other relief as determined by the court.
Parnes has had previous legal troubles relating to payments on his productions. Last year a judge confirmed a $202,000 judgment against the producer related to the Broadway production of Dancin’.
BroadwayWorld reached out to Parnes for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
