Former theater producers charged

Former Broadway theater producers Garth Drabinsky and Myron Gottlieb each were charged Tuesday in Canada with 19 counts of fraud for allegedly doctoring financial statements of Livent Inc., their now-bankrupt company.

Two others also were charged in the case that involved alleged fraud of $322 million, one of the largest in Canadian history, said Detective Inspector Craig Hannaford of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Livent was one of the major Broadway theater companies in the 1990s, producing hit shows such as “Ragtime” and “Fosse.”

Drabinsky and Gottlieb also face fraud and conspiracy charges in the United States, where they are accused of stealing $4.6 million from Livent during the 1990s and manipulating company financial records to hide it. Both have denied any wrongdoing. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in November 1998.