Spider-Man: The Musical, music by U2

Funniest thing are the threads on BroadwayWorld.com. For message boards it's not bad but there's a few doofuses in the Spiderman thread admonishing everyone for hoping the show fails because "of the economy impact" of the show.

Err last I looked the Spidy investors won't be denting Wall Street or getting a bailout

I might go see Miss Daisy if Redgrave wore the Knicks shirt onstage.

Michael Feingold on why he didn't bumrush Spider-Man:

It all has little to do with theater, and even less to do with criticism. Postponements, accidents, and epic cost overruns generate publicity. If seeing the show that provoked such publicity tempts you, you don't really care whether one reviewer called the score forgettable and another thought the story was incoherent. A critic trying to interfere with that public's interest is ludicrous—he might as well stand outside an amusement park bitching that the Ferris wheel doesn't look like a Rodin.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-02-16/theater/spider-man-turn-off-the-kvetch/

Lol, idiot producer posted this blog (and even logged onto BroadwayWorld to show everyone). What an idiot...

http://www.crazytownblog.com/crazytown/2011/02/look-out-here-comes-a-spider-critic.html

Never knew Jackey Harvey moonlighted as a producer.

excellent use of bolding

The producers of the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” have brought on a veteran musical supervisor and conductor, Paul Bogaev, as a consultant to help improve the performance, vocal and orchestration arrangements, and sound quality of the songs and numbers, a production spokesman, Rick Miramontez, confirmed on Monday.

I guess it's about time to readjust that budget figure, huh

http://thespideyproject.blogspot.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiV-9HblOvM

The producers of the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” have brought on a veteran musical supervisor and conductor, Paul Bogaev, as a consultant to help improve the performance, vocal and orchestration arrangements, and sound quality of the songs and numbers, a production spokesman, Rick Miramontez, confirmed on Monday.

There's some quote coming to mind right now involving "deckchairs" and "Titanic", but damned if I can remember the rest of it.

lol I remember a similar joke like that from Del Shores's "Sordid Lives", where this dude's wife claims she lost weight, and dude replies by saying she's fat and her weight loss was like "the Titanic losing a few deckchairs"

too bad it never occurred to them to bring in a writer familiar with comics and a musical supervisor familiar with broadway until after months of previews, I guess?

Every time I hear or read a headline about this I picture Bono and a bunch of rich investors just tossing buckets full of money into a giant bottomless hole.

OK, there's talk of a JUNE opening now. I still say never.

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Bloomberg_Says_SPIDERMAN_Has_No_Chance_to_Recoup_20010101

turning the currently schedule March 15 opening performance into a celebration of the work done so far

everybody gets a trophy day!

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/spider-man-cited-for-federal-safety-violations/?hp

Writing clearly on the wall now:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/theater/spider-man-director-faces-tough-choices-including-her-exit.html

“Anyone who creates knows — when it’s not quite there. Where it hasn’t quite become the phoenix or the burnt char. And I am right there.”

Indeed.

god please close this, i'd even settle for a revival of Bring Back Birdie in its place

Miss Taymor, lest you shirk, you should know:

"With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility."

I like Titus and some of the Beatles movie. I hope she rebounds.

Postponed, oh the shock

Little do we know, this is the world's most expensive media prank. Literally every single one of us has been secretly filmed throughout this whole thing. It's going to be a movie.

Webroulette

It's like that Stone Fury prank except we're all that guy who thinks he's playing Stone Fury

Seriously tho if I were a director, seeing "Spiderman" on anybody's resume would be a plus. If they can handle that disaster and not run fleeing, what can't they handle?

Course it could also trigger subconscious emotional damage to where years later they'll wind up weeping uncontrollably on stage for no reason.

Hulk: Turn Off Dark

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41m-zerzJUL._SS500_.jpg
Howie B: Turn the Dark Off

spidey project still going strong, second show about to sell out
http://thespideyproject.blogspot.com/2011/03/normal-0-0-1-366-2091-17-4-2567-11.html

So long farewell etc.:

A lead producer of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” has told at least two investors and one other person involved with the Broadway musical that its director, Julie Taymor, will step aside once negotiations about complex contractual matters like her creative legal rights and her considerable financial stake in any profits are concluded, according to the investors and a person in a senior position within the show’s management.

All three people, who spoke anonymously because the producer, Michael Cohl, has asked that information remain private, said that he had told Ms. Taymor that she had to step aside so the producers could bring in a new team to overhaul the $65 million production. Yet Ms. Taymor’s departure from the musical would be an enormously complicated matter given that she is its creator, director, mask designer and one of its two script-writers.

On a personal level both sides want to find a way for Ms. Taymor — who has worked on the show for nine years — to leave while also saving face.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/03/10/theater/10taymor/10taymor-articleLarge.jpg

"Yes, that is a door, and you are leaving through it."

the most fitting exit would be for her to fling herself off the platform that that body double fell off of

Man, what a fail upwards, lose is a win for Taymor. She's going to get a truck of cash for walking away from the production she screwed up. I bet Bono is watching with envy, wishing his songs were even worse so that he could open his own golden parachute and tandem jump.

Not according to Richard Johnson

http://www.thedaily.com/page/2011/03/09/030911-gossip-spider-man/

Bono and U2 guitarist, The Edge, precipitated Taymor's exit when they finished their tour of South Africa, came back to New York and saw the show. Bono suggested some improvements, but Taymor wasn't receptive..."Bono will do some more work on the show. He really feels it can be a masterpice, as opposed to a survivability test for young actors. Bono and Edge will make it more of a Broadway musical...Taymor didn't want to make changes. Her attitude was 'take it or leave it'...when she lost the trust of Bono, that was it for her."

when she lost the trust of Bono, that was it for her.

oh my GOD

I'm not even going to bother c/p-ing that multiple times because you can never reach infinity

The irony of Bono assuming to know how to make "more of a Broadway musical" more than a highly successful Broadway director does is not acknowledged.

Also, judging from the "survivability test" crack, it sounds like he'd just take down a bunch the ropes and have people stand on stage singing his awful songs that nobody's liked.

I think the only thing better than the trainwreck of death that the show has become would be to remove all of the life-threatening bits from it and just turn it into ppl singing some really stupid shit

Bono's shooting more for:
http://www.littlestuffedbull.com/images/comics/adff288-capbway.jpg

oh wow I totally remember that ad

Marvel's got a great track record w/ Broadway Musicals so far.

'Captain America' boasts a hero-sized $4 million budget. IT'S going to be a big one, if everything works out as befits a musical named ''Captain America.'' Big, in this case, means a budget of $4 million - a lot of money, even for a superhero fighting for the American dream, the flag and the woman he loves. The superhero will not, in fact, be particularly super when the curtain goes up. The book by Mel Mandel and Norman Sachs (who are also responsible for music and lyrics) has Captain A. going through a mid-life crisis. Fortunately, the action speeds up - his girlfriend, a candidate for President, is captured by terrorists and held hostage at the Lincoln Memorial. That's enough of the plot - when you invest millions, as are Shari Upbin, James Galton and Marvel Comics and some as yet untapped sources, you're entitled to a few secrets.

never premiered, apparently

Clearly the solution is that Bono plays Spider-Man.

He's probably been angling for that the whole time.

Meanwhile in the 'shut up, you' department:

BONO FINALLY returned to the scene of his crime last week - shockingly, his first visit to the victim in two months.

The next afternoon, the two of me - tech lover and music critic - also went to inspect this long-suffering creature...

I don't think anyone could believe in Bono as Spiderman. Fans of music and superheroes identify him too strongly with the man who defeated MacPhisto in the "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" video.

Oh my gosh: For the film Batman Forever, Joel Schumacher attempted to create a role for Bono as MacPhisto, but both later agreed it was not suitable.

I read that as 'not subtle' and was wondering how either of them would think that was a bad thing.

Formal NYT report up:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/theater/julie-taymor-spider-man.html

And in honor of that, tonight:

A preview performance of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" came to a halt Wednesday night during one of the Broadway musical's aerial stunts, a fight between Spider-Man and Green Goblin.
After soaring over the audience, Green Goblin's flight came to a stop when his steering mechanism failed. While the Goblin dangled over the stage and Spider-Man stood on a balcony ledge waiting to fly, the actors mugged for the laughing crowd.
A stage manager finally told the audience that the stunt would have to be canceled for safety reasons and Spidey and GG were returned to earth.
"I think they handled it well," said Avi Schwartz, 23, of Brooklyn, who was seeing the show with his wife Ariella, 19. "It didn't bother me whatsoever — the show is great."
"It's kind of easy for things to go wrong when people are flying over the audience," Ariella Schwartz said.