Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is a musical with music and lyrics by Bono and the Edge of Irish rock band U2 and a book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, the story incorporates elements of the 2002 film Spider-Man, the 2004 film Spider-Man 2 and the Greek myth of Arachne. It tells Spider-Man's origin story, his romance with Mary Jane Watson, and his battles with the Green Goblin. It includes highly technical stunts, such as aerial combat scenes and actors swinging from "webs".Healy, Patrick. "Concussion Sidelines 'Spider-Man' Actress" . The New York Times. December 3, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
The Broadway production was notorious for its many troubles. Several actors were injured performing stunts and the opening night was repeatedly delayed, causing some critics to review the "unfinished" production in protest. Following negative reviews, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark suspended performances for a month to retool the show. Aguirre-Sacasa, a longtime Spider-Man comics writer, was brought in to revise the story and book. The director, Julie Taymor, whose vision had driven the concept of the musical, was replaced by the creative consultant Philip William McKinley. By the time Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark officially opened on June 14, 2011, it had set the record for the longest preview period in Broadway history, with 182 performances.Pennacchio, George. "Spider-Man musical opens: What critics said" . ABClocal-KABC, June 14, 2011
Critical reception of the opening was better than for the previews, but mixed, with praise for the visual effects but little enthusiasm for the book and score. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is the most expensive Broadway production in history, with a budget of $75 million. Julie Taymor contested reports of the budget on the BBC Radio 4 program 'This Cultural Life' claiming that the production cost was overstated and instead comparable to the Shrek musical. In the week ending January 1, 2012, it held the box office record for Broadway sales in one week, taking in $2.941 million over nine performances, until it was beaten by Wicked at the end of the year, with $2.947 million. The production closed on January 4, 2014, at a massive financial loss.
Description
Although often described as a rock musical, the production "treads new ground" that some commentators have asserted "have effectively distanced it from its peers—and caused some confusion when it comes time to describe the show."Marshall, Rick. "Bono Calls 'Spider-Man' Musical 'Pop-Up, Pop-Art Opera': U2's The Edge describes Broadway's 'Turn Off the Dark' as 'something that hasn't been done before." . MTV.com. November 30, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010. The Edge said he was unsure how to describe the production, saying it had elements of rock and roll, circus, opera and musical theater. Bono, admitting that his description is a little "pretentious", referred to it as "pop-up, pop-art opera", and said that the director, Julie Taymor, called it a "rock-and-roll circus drama".Bernardin, Marc. "The 'Spider-Man' musical: A 'circus rock-n-roll drama'? Really?" . Entertainment Weekly. March 27, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2010. He said it dealt with "the same stuff" as Rilke, Blake, Wings of Desire, Roy Lichtenstein and the Ramones.Wieseltier, Leon. "Excellent New Art" . The New Republic. January 12, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011. 60 Minutes called it a "comic book rock opera circus," but in this segment, Bono noted that even using "rock" to describe the music is too narrow a description because "We've moved out of the rock and roll idiom in places into some very new territory for us ... [including] big show tunes and dance songs.""A Peek At Spider-Man, The Musical" . CBS.com. November 28, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
The production was described early on as "the most technically complex show ever on Broadway, with 27 aerial sequences of characters flying" and engaging in aerial combat. The production also includes a "multitude of moving set pieces that put the audience in the middle of the action," and enough projections onto giant screens that Bono has said that it is like a three-dimensional graphic novel. The original story treated the origins of Spider-Man similarly to the story in the 2002 film, but wove in an involved story about a villain based on the mythological Arachne. A "geek chorus" of four teenagers narrated the story. In the rewritten version, the plot hews closer to the comic book and film and trims and transforms the role of Arachne into a "kindred spirit in Spider-Man's dreams".Marks, Peter. "Theater: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark . The Washington Post, June 14, 2011
Broadway production Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark had no out-of-town tryouts because of the technical requirements of the production, which were designed for the Foxwoods Theatre on Broadway.Lustig, Jay. "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" . New Jersey On-Line. January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011. The musical began previews at that theatre on November 28, 2010. After many delays, the official opening gala night took place on June 14, 2011.
The creative team originally included the director Taymor and the choreographer Daniel Ezralow, with scenic design by George Tsypin, costume design by Eiko Ishioka and lighting design by Donald Holder.Green, Jesse. (November 21, 2010) "A Web and A Prayer: A Glimpse Inside Spider-Man, Broadway's Most Expensive Musical Ever," Jesse Green, New York Magazine, November 2010 . Nymag.com. Retrieved on June 20, 2011.Swinging for the Rafters: Spider-Man Set Designer Opts for a Pop-Up Peter Parker | The New York Observer. Observer.com (September 28, 2010). Retrieved on November 6, 2010. An "expanded creative team", announced on March 9, 2011, includes Philip William McKinley, joining the production as "consultant" (when Taymor left the production). It also includes the addition of Chase Brock for additional choreography and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa for additional writing."Exclusive: Chase Brock Confirmed as New SPIDER-MAN Choreographer" . BroadwayWorld.com, March 24, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2011. Taymor retained her original credits in Spider-Man.
The opening night cast featured Reeve Carney as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane Watson, Patrick Page as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, T.V. Carpio as Arachne, Michael Mulheren as J. Jonah Jameson, Ken Marks as Uncle Ben, Isabel Keating as Aunt May, Jeb Brown as Mary Jane's Father, Matt Caplan as school bully Flash Thompson, and Laura Beth Wells as Osborn's wife Emily.Riedel, Michael. "Broadway bombshell". New York Post, May 30, 2010. Due to the physical demands of the role, Carney performed in six of the eight performances each week. The original alternate was British actor Matthew James Thomas, who left the show in November 2012 to star in Pippin."Cast list for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark at the Foxwoods Theatre (formerly Hilton Theatre)" . Playbill. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
On November 19, 2013, producers announced that the show would close on January 4, 2014, citing falling ticket sales and no longer being able to get injury insurance for the production as reasons for closure. Having run on Broadway for over three years, the production failed to make back its $75 million cost, the largest in Broadway history, with investors reportedly losing $60 million.
Canceled Las Vegas, national tour, and future productions When announcing the show's closure on Broadway, it was announced the show would transfer to Las Vegas. The show's producer Michael Cohl said of the transfer, "We'll work on improving everything, It could be anything. It's a blank piece of paper."
In 2012, the musical's producers confirmed that they were scouting theatres in Europe, after the New York Post reported that they were considering productions in arenas in London and Hamburg.
On July 25, 2014, Cohl announced that the musical would set out on an arena tour in place of the previous announced production in Las Vegas and would launch in late 2015 or winter of 2016, but no such tour has since happened. Despite the show planned for the Vegas tour, Michael Cohl was quoted as saying: "Regarding the future of the "Spider-Man" musical property, Las Vegas was never a done deal; it's simply a market that we were exploring — among other possibilities — and still are."
Plot
Act I At Midtown High School in Queens, New York, local teenager Peter Parker gives a book report about Arachne, Goddess of the Weavers ("The Myth of Arachne"). As Peter gives his report, Arachne descends to the stage and tells the audience her story ("Behold and Wonder"). After class ends, Peter's enemy Flash Thompson and his friends gleefully torment the straight A student ("Bullying by Numbers"). Peter has a crush on his childhood friend Mary Jane Watson, but they both have unhappy lives ("No More"). Peter has lived with Uncle Ben and Aunt May ever since his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash when he was a child, while Mary Jane endures abuse from her alcoholic father.
A few days later, Peter and his classmates go on a field trip to the genetics laboratory of scientist Norman Osborn and his wife Emily, who explain what they hope to accomplish with their genetic research ("D.I.Y. World"). While Peter takes pictures of the lab for the school newspaper, the Osborns lock down the lab as a dangerous genetically altered spider has escaped. While the students and scientists panic, the spider lowers itself onto Peter's shoulder and bites him ("Venom").
Peter soon becomes aware that, as a result of the spider's bite, he has spider-like powers along with a muscular physique, 20/20 vision and the ability to emit web strings from his wrists. He uses his powers at school to defeat Flash and his friends in a fistfight ("Bouncing Off the Walls"). After seeing Flash give Mary Jane a ride, Peter decides to buy a car to impress her. He enters a wrestling tournament and wins the grand prize of $1,000. Peter returns home only to learn that Uncle Ben has been shot by a thief. Arachne, who has been watching over Peter, encourages him to use his gift to defend the innocent from evil ("Rise Above"). Peter vows to avenge Uncle Ben's death by using his powers to save the world and notes that "with great power comes great responsibility".
Peter makes a costume and takes on the persona of "Spider-Man" ("NY Debut"). The Daily Bugle begins to publish articles about Spider-Man while Peter is hired by editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson as a freelance photojournalist. Meanwhile, Norman Osborn begins thinking that Spider-Man stole his research as the military organization Viper Worldwide presses him to accelerate his project ("Pull the Trigger"). Norman contemplates the dilemma with Emily while Peter shares his first romantic moment with Mary Jane ("Picture This"). Norman decides to experiment on himself, causing an electrical surge that results in Emily's accidental death. Norman goes insane and mutates into the "Green Goblin".
Act II