Bono & The Edge's Spider-Man Musical May Have Short Future
by VVN Music
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the Broadway musical with songs by U2's Bono and The Edge, started previews on Sunday night and, while critics won't be officially allowed to review the show until its January opening, there were still many comments flying around New York that the show has numerous problems.
Previews of Broadway shows, which can run a month or more, are used to work out the kinks and revise the dialog, songs, etc. before the official opening. In some cases, cast members have been hastily let go when the chemistry is not jelling.
Spider-Man, though, seems to have problems in every aspect, at least according to those who have seen it. Word is that the show had NEVER had a full dress rehearsal before Sunday night which is unheard of, especially when you are asking patrons to pay $140 per seat. Reportedly, the show had to be stopped five or more times because of technical problems, the worst of which was towards the end of the first act when the lead abruptly stopped while flying over the audience. An early intermission was called which lasted for 34 minutes (normally 10 to 15 minutes) while Spider-Man was manually brought to the ground and the cast prepared for the second act.
At one point, during a pause in the later act for another glitch, an audience member yelled out "I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I feel like a guinea pig today. I feel like it’s a dress rehearsal." Even though she was met with a round of boos, it appears she may not have been the only one feeling the sentiment.
Overall, the reaction to the initial performance of the show leaned towards bad pacing and a rather hard to understand storyline. Some also said the songs did not stand out as they thought they would.
The stakes are extremely high. The budget has reportedly now grown to $65 million with an additional $4 being added due to the two week delay to work out technical details. That total is more than twice the previous most expensive show, Shrek: The Musical.
The biggest story for today, though, came from the New York Times and Rolling Stone who said that the Erich Jungwirth, the new general manager of the Foxwoods Theater where Spider-Man is being produced, has already started contacting other producers to have them keep his theater in mind for future productions. This is not a vote of confidence for the production, although Jungwirth tried to do damage control with the New York Times by saying that "as for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, we are incredibly positive about the prospects and are optimistic that the show is going to have a fantastic run at the Foxwoods Theater for many years to come."
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