Robot 6
Future of troubled Spider-Man musical could be set today
- Posted on November 6, 2009 - 10:25 AM by Kevin Melrose
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
The fate of the financially troubled Spider-Man Broadway musical could be decided today.
According to published reports, producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, whose budget has soared to $52 million, are meeting in Manhattan with director Julie Taymor and other members of the creative team to discuss the cash-flow problems that stalled production for nearly a month and cast doubt on the future of the production.
The musical had been set to preview in late February at a renovated Hilton Theatre, and then open sometime in March. But Patrick Healy of The New York Times writes that Taymor is expected to say rehearsals for the technically complex show won't be able to begin before January, which could push the opening past April 29 -- the cutoff date for Tony Award nominations.
Perhaps of more pressing concern is the $24 million needed to cover a proposed budget that ballooned to $52 million from an estimated $35 million, in part due to theater renovations and restorations. According to the Los Angeles Times, Spider-Man will cost about $1 million a week to produce -- "hundreds of thousands dollars more than what some elaborate shows such as Mary Poppins or West Side Story cost -- and require the 1,700-seat theater to sell out for every show for four years just to break even.
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which boasts a musical score by Bono and the Edge, has cast Evan Rachel Wood as Mary Jane, Alan Cumming as Green Goblin and, apparently, relative newcomer Reeve Carney as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. (Carney, who will appear in Taymor's big-screen adaptation of The Tempest, long had been rumored for the role of Spider-Man but never confirmed.)
However, as the LA Times notes, with production delays the musical risks losing the cast to other projects. Cumming, for instance, was just added to the cast of Burlesque, which begins filming next week.
NOTE: A post detailing the announcements made after the meeting can be found here.
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10 Comments
F-biz
November 6, 2009 at 2:15 pm
That sucks. I was looking forward to seeing this.
g
November 6, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Spidey still on, but for summer opening- http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/west_side_whack_ZnVeviiV4uQv3B0pJNJqPL
SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark" seems to be back on track. I'm hearing that the $45 million musical, which suspended production this fall when the money ran out, will begin previews in June at the Hilton Theatre and open in July.
The show's blowing off the April cutoff date for the Tonys. But the producers believe their audience -- tourists and teenage boys -- don't pay much attention to the awards, which, as we all know, is a tarnished, conflict-riddled award run by those two useless and bloated organizations, the Broadway League and the American Theater Wing.
Bono, who's written the score, brought in Michael Cohl, who organizes U2's concert tours, to sort out the mess caused by the show's lead producer, David Garfinkle.
Bono tried to push out Garfinkle, but the amateur impresario still controls the stage rights, sources say.
So they're still stuck with him.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/west_side_whack_ZnVeviiV4uQv3B0pJNJqPL#ixzz0W7ItkkD1
g
November 6, 2009 at 2:27 pm
And here's more about the show itself including how it supposedly opens:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-spider-man6-2009nov06,0,3989809.story
chad
November 6, 2009 at 3:05 pm
hate to say it but this latest thing is a sign that spider man is not ment to have a run on broadway since day one the thing has wound up having one thing go wrong after another. time to throw in the web shooters and call it a day.
Aaron Poehler
November 6, 2009 at 4:01 pm
This trainwreck is inevitably going to tank whether it makes it to opening or not, better to keep it from ever seeing the light of day. What a terrible idea all around.
Josh
November 6, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Good riddance if it doesn't work out. Not that I wish anyone in this endeavor ill, but even with a luminary like Julie Taymor at the helm this thing was just plain ill-conceived. I can't decide which was more silly; this, or the Jim Steinman Batman musical.
Omni-man
November 6, 2009 at 10:15 pm
With all the gay comic fans out there today, you'd think combining a Broadway musical with a superhero would be a no-brainer. Maybe it should have been the X-men. And what's this Bono and the Edge shite? They couldn't get the other no-names in the band involved and call it U2? Does Stan get a cameo every night? Just make it and let it fail like that Lord of the Rings thing, then we can all stop thinking about it, and Marvel can get on with that Captain America musical they announced back in the eighties. America fuck yeah!
Kevin Melrose
November 7, 2009 at 7:16 am
The Lord of the Rings musical production didn't fail; a world tour kicks off in 2011.
Also: I don't think the producers are banking on gay comic-book fans for their audience (talk about a niche within a niche). If they are, Turn Off the Dark is in more trouble than anyone ever imagined.
Kevin
November 8, 2009 at 8:06 pm
This is still an awful idea. Who reads a Spider-Man comic, or watches one of the films and thinks. you know what would make this better if he burst out into song. Specifically a song which is not a humorous rendition of his 1960s theme song.
Fergster
November 9, 2009 at 2:23 am
I lived next to the Lord Of The Rings production in London and believe me it was not a success by any stretch. Given that it was pretty awful didn't help matters.