Spider-Man: The Musical, music by U2

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.

Admit it Ned, you're enjoying this!

Of course I am!

Bono and the Edge, for their part, are expected to play a greater role; one of their songs is expected to be a new Act II opener that reflects Peter Parker’s struggle between being a young man and being Spider-man.

I'm sure these 2 new songs will save the show!

"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Spinning For"

"The Fly"?

"Stuck in a Moment," to be performed whenever an actor gets hung up during a wire stunt.

"Unforgettable Wire"

Peter Parker’s struggle between being a young man and being Spider-man.

"I Will Wallow"

i'd love it if they add menial songs for just about every possible Parker daily activity, like "Putting On My Jeans", "Aced the Chem Test", "OMG That Girl's Boobs", etc....

That sounds like a musical of the Spiderman syndicated comic strip.

"It's a puzzle
This daily grind
My head's a mess!
No sleep to find!

*pause*

But though I am dreaming
Of Mary Jane (or Sue? or Deb?)
All I want to know is...

How?
How do I?

SHOT WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEB!"

^newest director

sPIderman: Squaring The Circle

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2011/03/spidey-bites.html

"I don’t know if I should put this on the record, but I’m surprised and a little hurt that they haven’t asked me to do a cameo yet."

More Jack Kirby.

Hahah the weaselly language here:

The revamping of SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark represents an unprecedented and historic moment on Broadway. The new version takes the best aspects of the original, adds great new songs by Bono and The Edge, tells the story from a different angle, and will offer an even more thrilling audience experience.

Lead producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris said, in a joint statement, "We salute the artists and performers who have made this show an exciting reality, and we look forward to getting to the finish line with the wonderful new version of SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark that is now in the works, with Phil McKinley at the helm."

What if "rampant performer injuries" are considered some of the "best aspects of the original"?

hahahaha

oh they'll be keeping those

Be funny (inevitable?) if the show emerges from this much better and stronger, but ticket sales drop off.

New random details or something.

Funniest detail -- the "Failure is Impossible" award.

Reports!

http://gawker.com/5801702/made+over-spider+man-musical-manages-to-not-kill-anyone-on-its-first-night-back

"opens" next Tuesday! maybe!

"Re-Imagined!"

"Now only slightly worse than seeing Paula Poundstone naked!"

The thing that made this all worth it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR1DdMeVqTw

Oh that Edge, teasing Bono at the Tony Awards about now being humble. In the 2nd NY Times articel below there's the "humble" reference (it's mentioned somewhere after the part about Bono bringing takeout food from a pricey Italian restaurant to the NYC recording studio)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/theater/bono-and-the-edge-explain-spider-man-back-story.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Bono and the Edge expressed regret at not being on site during previews in December, saying they were locked into a U2 tour of New Zealand and Australia. Most Broadway composers, both veterans and especially newcomers, are in their theaters virtually every night during previews, watching and taking notes. The Edge said they watched videos of performances from Australia yet were not in the theater again until early January, by which time the musical had become a late-night TV punch line.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/arts/music/bono-and-the-edge-at-work-on-spider-man-turn-off-the-dark.html?ref=theater

The project led Bono and the Edge to try new structures. “I’d never written a waltz in my life,” the Edge said. Now he has: a mad scientist’s patter song, “D.I.Y. World,” with lines like “Designer genes are a better fit.” It’s a show-tune-y number far removed from anything in the U2 catalog.

article

“I’d never written a waltz in my life,” the Edge said. Now he has: a mad scientist’s patter song, “D.I.Y. World,” with lines like “Designer genes are a better fit.”

Yeah, stop there.

OK, gotta say, Taymor may be a piece of work, but she got hosed. Bono/Edge collaborate with her, are fully aware of her vision, like the script, support her crazy vision, write the shitty songs (which pushes them out of their comfort zone), then wait out the entire preview process until it's too late. Then they swoop back in - like superheroes!- and kick her off the project when she won't change the shitty musical they worked on together for years.

The other reading is that Bono recognized they were in over their heads, and understood she had to go to remotely save his investment of time and money. Though from that article it seem as if Bono was smart enough not to put any of his own money into this. Edge, not so lucky.

Asked whether he and Bono plotted against Ms. Taymor, the Edge replied: “Julie was clearly exhausted, overwrought, and we all thought that if we don’t tread carefully, she’s going to walk. We were tip-toeing around her, and I think that probably meant that people were careful in what they said or told her. I certainly didn’t feel I could be 100 percent frank with Julie, and that was because I felt she was carrying so much of the weight.”

so she took the fall eh? pun intended

I guess this would be what people refer to as "throwing someone under the bus"

idk if it's that easy to shift blame onto Bono and The Edge in this case though....