Sunday, February 20, 2011
Troubled Spider-Man musical hires new writer
thestar.com: "The producers of the embattled Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark have hired HBO writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to rewrite the book, according to entertainment website Deadline New York.
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It's a little concerning that they are hiring a writer to rewrite the book a month out from their supposed opening. I understand there are multi-million dollars on the line, but they seem to be frantically grasping at anything to keep them afloat, but it doesn't do any good if they things they are holding on to are attached to the sinking ship. They are already an embarrassment to the Broadway community and probably will not be able to outlive their rocky start. At best, it is what is bringing the audiences in hopes for something to go wrong. Should they just stop fiddling with the show and let it sink slowly until their fad fades out and people start to judge it on its actual show or do they just bow out now, knowing they probably won't win this battle? What are they fighting for besides trying to prove to themselves that money didn't just go to waste? Perhaps their motives aren't as artistically driven as they should be.
To edit or re-conceive? That is the question. If they are going to rewrite the show, they should stop and go back into rehearsal. I guess getting an HBO writer might be on par with the high tech nature of the show, but only time will tell. Though going back into rehearsal will cut any incoming money and might lost the hype (or make it bigger) it could also bring the moral of the cast down. I know it is complicated for our actors here to go back into rehearsal for the Monday of the second week of tech. Its like a step backwards.
I wonder if the actors are having trouble with line. I wonder how all of this is going to turn out? I guess we will have to keep our ears to the wire, if they aren't already.
From what I've heard from my friends who've seen it, this show could use all the overhauling it can get. I've heard that the book is among the shows worst faults. In my opinion bring on the new book writer. Just be forewarned that changing the entire story may mean extending previews...again.
Not that anyone seems to mind that.
I don't understand how you can rewrite an entire script one month before opening. That just makes no since to me. Of course the opening will probably be pushed back again but still. This is just another troubling problem for Spiderman. And I don't think a script is going to cure the entire musical of bad press and horrifying injuries suffered by the actors. I don't even understand how their rehearsals are going to work now with a whole new script! These poor people working on this show, when will the producers just give up and either let it opening or just completely close before they embarrass themselves some more.
While this could be another tick on the list of Spider-man woes, what happens if Spider-man the musical works? And, hypothetically, what happens if it works really well? Can a big-budget Broadway blockbuster work as a result of an organic process, which is essentially what the train-wreck of Spider-man has become? Practically pushing opening back, re-writing, re-casting, fighting legal & safety issues, are probably occurring to try to recoup as much of the investment as possible (both financially and artistically in Taymor's case.) But maybe the constantly previewing show, is what a show that couldn't be done needed. Instead of saying, "We're going to put on a show in such a large scale that no one has ever seen before and we're going to do it within the same financial and calendar parameters like everyone else," they should've said, "we're going to do a show like no one has ever seen and we're going to do it in a way no one has ever done before." Granted that show may have never been green lighted but maybe Spider-man should've never been green lighted. If Spider-man works in spite of itself, maybe there's a new way of producing commercial theater on the horizon.
What a brave man, willing to step into this mess and take on the challenge. I hope he's up to it. maybe he has an idea and he'll turn this show right around. That would be an incredible story. I do feel bad for the actors thought who probably thought this show would be the next big thing, like the production staff probably convinced them it was. At least Spiderman will never be forgotten. I wonder if theres a story like this where the show was the joke of the century but decades later became a success. Maybe once this crashes and burns someone much later will pick up the ashes and accomplish what they couldn't. Is there a show like that?
I find it interesting that they announced a new writer but did not change the Opening date. Doing a rewrite in 3weeks seems implausible however, if they are not going to change the dramatic fight sequences or add new songs, (U2 is back on tour anyways), they might only be addressing spoken dialogue and then they might have a chance. I think their best bet at this point is to hire STAN LEE.
Oddly enough, I'm glad to hear this, although it does seem to be coming a little LATE in the process. Considering the amount of problems this show has been encountering, it is obvious that a great deal of work needs to be done. Working on the book is a start--probably not the answer to everything, but a start. One has to wonder how many other things they are changing now too. Lots of blocking and effects, I imagine. Will the music be affected? How many zillions more dollars will all of this take, and where is that money coming from?
I can't believe they are rewriting the book, 3 weeks from opening. It shows they are desperate and that's not good. Watching this unfold is horrifying. Like watch the Titanic sink. That was really expensive too but there comes a point were no matter what you do you just can't save it. I feel bad for the show and the people who worked on it but even worse I feel bad for Broadway. If Spiderman fails as most people predict it will what will that do to people's ideas of the arts? We have been talking about lack of funding. How will producers feel about taking chances with big musicals in the near future if this one is a catastrophic flop? Everyone is saying how insipid and horribly contrived this show is and it would almost be worse if it succeeds because what does that say about the caliber of Broadway and it's audiences? How will this change the shows produced in the future? I see only bad things coming from Spiderman and can only hope that this new writer can do something that could save this show.
This article is funny because now it is 2023 and Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark is so far in the past, and spoiler alert, it didn’t work out. “Breaking with tradition, critics weighed in on it last month even though the show is still in previews, calling it ‘a shrill, insipid mess’ (The Washington Post) and likely to ‘rank among the worst’ musicals of all time (The New York Times).” THIS IS FUNNY BECAUSE THEY WERE RIGHT!!! If I’m being totally honest though, I would have absolutely loved to see this monstrosity. Like you can’t tell me this trainwreck doesn’t sound like a blast to watch. Other than the fact that cast members suffered intense injuries backstage because this show was putting safety last when it should always be first, it would have been really interesting to see their process in retrospect.
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