Tag: Spider-musical

Now that the drama had ended, and the show has gone on, some of the folks associated with the epic Spider-Man musical revamp are talking about their roles in it. Playwright/comics scribe Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa pens his memoirs of how he came to help rewrite the show and it's quite sunny in tone, but also gives his side of it for the first time:

The Spider-Man the Musical Saga closed another chapter of its saga last night with a star studded opening -- President Bill Clinton attended, as did Matt Dmon, Cindy Crawford, and of course, composers Bono and the Edge. Even more notably, director Julie Taymor, who got fired three months ago, showed up and took a curtain call. On the red carpet she was repeatedly asked if she missed being a part of this, to which she fired back, “I AM part of this.” At the end of the curtain call, Taymor and Bono even shared a cold, celebratory smooch.

Last night's American Idol finale -- we were RIGHT on the money -- included such spectacles as Lady Gaga and 71 year old Tom Jones, but also Reeve Carney, who plays Spider-Man in the cursed Spider-Man musical, singing the song's big ballad alongside composers Bono and the Edge.

Was God trying to tell them something?

Well, it looks like The Beatwill have to see Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark again! Because when it officially opens--in JUNE this time--it could be a different show. The NY Times reports that what everyone was whispering yesterday was true: the opening has been delayed until June, and the production -- the most expensive in Broadway history -- will take a break to try to fix some of the problems, and probably bring in a fixer.

So I finally got to see Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. I use the word "finally" although the show has only been in previews for a couple of months -- still nearly the longest preview run of any show ever. Primarily, I use it because I've been writing about this show for nearly four years. And looking back at my predictions in my very first post about the show, there is indeed a song about Mary Jane's eyes -- so that is one point for me. I also predicted it would be great -- hm, that is maybe one half a point. But NO ONE could have predicted the rest of the saga, from running out of money (after spending $60 million) to people breaking their backs, to Spider-women storming out in fear of their brains being bashed out and a parade of colorful incidents that have already made this one of the most legendary shows in Broadway history.

A new name joins the fabled Spider-Man musical.

It's funny because it's true.

It has become legend. The reason this time? Well as Steven Bunche and many others have pointed out, the musical still lacks an ending. Git 'er done! Producers announced the show will be delayed until March 15 (pushed back from February 7) and several performances have been canceled between now and then to allow more time to fine-tine the technical aspects of the show -- which is the most complex ever brought to Broadway -- and to work on the ending, and allow Bono and The Edge to work on the unpopular score.

Well, we were wondering how Spider-Man musical previews were going. Former Marvel editor and DC editor, now writer, Steve Bunche went a few days ago and turns in the most detailed review yet, expressed as only he can. Be forewarned the review includes ALL the major plot points, so spoilers ahoy. However, he and his date were unimpressed but may perhaps be able to tell their grandchildren that they saw something beyond imagining all right. Some excerpts:

Reeve Carney sings "Boy Falls From The Sky," one of the Bono/Edge penned songs for the Spider-Man musical this morning on GMA. Yep, that was about what we expected from the moment we heard about this project.

They said it couldn't be done. Arising from a shambling mess of over-spending, poor planning, and bad management, against all odds the Spider-Man musical -- and its titanotheric top line of talent, including theater heavyweight Julie Taymor, guitar god Edge and immanence manifest Bono -- are actually coming to Broadway. Earlier in the week, the very first perplexing set concept art emerged, which you can see above. And today, Friday, a song from the musical will be performed for a mass audience for the first time, when Reeve Carney, who plays Spider-Man, sings one of the songs on Good Morning America. If you happen to be up and about at 7 am, you can even watch the taping.