Salon.com: "From its conception, 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' has been plagued with problems. It was too expensive. It didn't make any sense; with director Julie Taymor choosing to focus the show around a strange Greek mythology that included a 'Geek Chorus' and a villainess named Arachne, who inexplicably became the central figure in the musical.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Will anyone care about the revamped "Spider-Man" musical?
Salon.com: "From its conception, 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' has been plagued with problems. It was too expensive. It didn't make any sense; with director Julie Taymor choosing to focus the show around a strange Greek mythology that included a 'Geek Chorus' and a villainess named Arachne, who inexplicably became the central figure in the musical.
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11 comments:
Honestly, I dont. I stopped caring about Spiderman a while back. I wanted to give it a chance, I wanted it to do well and succeed. I had hoped that it could have brought a whole new audience to the theatre and opened the eyes of newcomers, to the wonder of the theatre. But at this point its just a joke. So many people have been hurt, so much money has been wasted, its awful. I feel like they are way past the point of diminishing returns and need to just stop. Sure theyve replaced almost everyone and have all these great new ideas, but even if it turns out to be the best show ever, it still is partly be that joke that was Spiderman.
i wont because I'm so tired of hearing about this sinking ship that anything but a quiet scuttle is more than this tank deserves. this production is just a great example of what has gone wrong with both the film and theatre industries. its a lavish budget an over attempt for spectacle and the loss of the basic sense of story telling. until you start taking the story as the most important part, until you stop taking real writers for granted and stop paying just anyone to write you plays your going to keep getting shit... shit in -shit out... the real problem truly always falls back to the very first step... its on the scripts pages.
I think most people won't. I know that Julie Taymor was a big draw. I was totally against the idea of Spiderman the musical, but I figured Genius Director Taymor must have something up her sleeve. And as it's just gone downhill, I personally have no interest. They have gone too deep to turn back now, but also to wrong to make a difference. The reason they're aiming at families and kids is because everyone else is going to get wise and get sick of this drama. Families will come, I think, but I certainly won't.
There are two ways that audiences will still care about the Spider-Man musical:
1) It somehow ends up worse than it was before (which I feel is HIGHLY unlikely)
2) It somehow ends up being a masterpiece (which I feel is unlikely, but has slightly better chances than option 1)
The more likely scenario is that the show ends up being "OK" or "mediocre", and this will be the death of the show (and any show really). No one wants to see an OK show, so interest will disappear.
I disagree with the nature of the comments on this post. Whereas those of us in the industry are completely over this issue. If the new spiderman creative team is able to save this show in any way and make it family appealing, I don't think we're going to be rid of spiderman for quite a while. It may be less "theatrical" and their probably gonna come up with something that is more of a theme park show. Kids love this stuff and it will have an audience. Even when I saw it in March in its disastrous form there were kids in the audience in spiderman halloween costumes. And even though I say I'm over it, if it re-opens in June and gets any semi-positive reviews, I will be compelled to see it again to see if the re-imagining worked.
Even if it's mediocre, every 10 year old boy must see this show. There aren't many family shows on Broadway right now, that's what Wonderland banks on anyway. I agree with Dale that if they go in the theme park show direction they will attract tons of excited young boys who can show up in spiderman gear and get spiderman's autograph. Like Friday, if they can make some songs catchy, it doesn't matter the caliber, SOME group will like it.
People will care unfortunately about the revamped Spider-man. I want to say I won't care but let's be honest this show is a spectacle just hearing about it so how could I not want to see it? And that's just want people want a spectacle, good or bad people are still going to want to see it. Maybe this musical can be saved. I doubt but again I will probably end up seeing it if it ever opens and if I ever get back to New York.
If people aren't falling to their doom, audiences won't care. If the new producers can stir up the press with a few more crippling accidents, I'm sure it could run for a few weeks...
I think we need to approach the new Spiderman with a new perspective and treat it as a new production. It sounds like it is being majorly revamped with a new production team and it would be unfair to them to go into this not caring and expecting the same crap. I have high hopes for the new version and I think we need to give it a blank slate.
I think that Spiderman has lost the real meaning of why people come to the theater. Broadway isn't supposed to be about outlandish tricks and how many people can get hurt in the making. It is about singing and dancing and telling a story. It should be about real people. Let's leave the special effects to Hollywood instead of trying to put stunt men into live theater. I had high hopes, but now, I think it has gone too far to be saved.
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