The Official "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" Thread!

[The Guard]

I don't think the music (What we've heard of it) sounds all that good. I don't even think the swinging looks that great. I might be alone in that. It just looks really controlled and not terribly exciting.

It's my opinion that musicals by nature don't have great or well constructed stories. They're explosions of emotional singing and dancing, and pretty light on story generally speaking. So when people say that the story has issues, and barely mention the music when they do, it bothers me.

What's going on with Mary Jane? Why does she have all the different dresses? Are all the villains trying to marry her or something?

The stunts in this are certainly dangerous, but its likely a controlled danger. Actors get hurt. Even in regular theatre, with lesser stunts.
[quopte]I need a better look at it, but it definitely could be worse. I'm glad they kept the yellow and green color scheme with the lightning bolt on his head still. [/quote]

He's wearing chunky sparkly armor, and when he uses his lightning, it looks like he's holding sparklers.

[Charlie No-One]

I don't think Mary Jane's dresses are in the show. That was just for the Vogue photoshoot.

[DACrowe]

Originally Posted by The Guard

I don't think the music (What we've heard of it) sounds all that good. I don't even think the swinging looks that great. I might be alone in that. It just looks really controlled and not terribly exciting.

It's my opinion that musicals by nature don't have great or well constructed stories. They're explosions of emotional singing and dancing, and pretty light on story generally speaking. So when people say that the story has issues, and barely mention the music when they do, it bothers me.

What's going on with Mary Jane? Why does she have all the different dresses? Are all the villains trying to marry her or something?

The stunts in this are certainly dangerous, but its likely a controlled danger. Actors get hurt. Even in regular theatre, with lesser stunts.
[quopte]I need a better look at it, but it definitely could be worse. I'm glad they kept the yellow and green color scheme with the lightning bolt on his head still.

He's wearing chunky sparkly armor, and when he uses his lightning, it looks like he's holding sparklers.[/QUOTE]

Now that is not entirely fair. Musical stories may never have as many plot twists and intricacies of a Christopher Nolan movie, but they can be quite complex and emotionally or intellectually moving with strongly constructed stories.

Take for example the musicals of Stephen Sondheim: Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Little Night Music, Assassins, etc.

But even just recently I saw Billy Elliot (based on the film) and it was surprisingly moving and felt like an honest look at the death of blue collar miners in "Maggie Thatcher's" England.

You can deal with meaty subjects in musicals. However, you don't have to. And in fact the best spectacular musicals may have big stories, but they are distilled, as you said, into emotional punches the audience can remember. The best good example IMO being Phantom of the Opera. The lyrics are window dressing and the plot is very broad, but the emotion of the characters conveyed through the music (and the brilliant stage and art direction by Hal Prince). It had the spectacle of the crashing chandelier and foggy sewer systems. But it was grounded in emotionally moving music that conveyed emotions everyone can relate to (love, loss, loneliness, isolation, longing, mourning, etc.).

Spider-Man as a musical on the other hand just looks like a lot of noise. Rock musicals can work (Rent, Next to Normal, reportedly the Green Day musical)--but it looks like a big mess.

[DACrowe]

SNL has a surprising send-up of the Spidey musical.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...er=rss&emc=rss

Still funny.

[Mysterioman]

They needed more different types of music. Not just rock and some occasional other songs here and there.

[the_ultimate_evil]

Bono, for instance, suggested that they base the character of Norman Osborn, an environmental scientist who becomes the villainous Green Goblin, on Ted Turner, the billionaire entrepreneur whose eccentricities had stayed with Bono after meeting at Mr. Turner's rustic getaway in Georgia. "Bono described this fast-talking, always-thinking, brilliant and strange Southerner, and you're always looking for vivid characters who will pop on the stage," said Glen Berger, who wrote the show's book with Ms. Taymor.

The musical's Osborn/Goblin (Patrick Page) has the gray hair and Southern accent of Mr. Turner and shares his concerns about the environment (hence, here, the "green" angle). "I hope Ted will like it," Bono said.

http://io9.com/5700218/previews-for-...pet-hammerhead

call it nerdy, call it rampant fanboy ism but i have never wanted to hurt someone as much as i do right now

[Shockdingo]

....Ted Turner?....Osborn doesn't even have the right hair colour and GREEN Gobby?! Oh for.....wow, got to love how they have no understanding of the character. I mean really, it's not that hard to look at the recent Spider-man movies, or pick up a fairly recent Spidey comic to get the gist of Norman's character. He's a diabolical dingle berry even without the Goblin influence. Having him want to help people by being globally prepared causes so many problems; if this is the cause of his accident, it makes him a tragic figure who only wanted to do the right thing. It also seems that all the super powered indiviudals could stem from this "global preparedness" spiel. Carnage won't be a symbiote I bet, probably some survival/environmental suit experiment gone horribly wrong or something.

[Hellion]

Originally Posted by the_ultimate_evil

http://io9.com/5700218/previews-for-...pet-hammerhead

call it nerdy, call it rampant fanboy ism but i have never wanted to hurt someone as much as i do right now

...and the image of one of my favorite comic villains destroyed and now when I think about Goblin...I'll think Ted Turner...

...I'm open to interpretations and re-imaginings, but really...!!!...

[danoyse]

Originally Posted by DACrowe

He's wearing chunky sparkly armor, and when he uses his lightning, it looks like he's holding sparklers.

Now that is not entirely fair. Musical stories may never have as many plot twists and intricacies of a Christopher Nolan movie, but they can be quite complex and emotionally or intellectually moving with strongly constructed stories.

Take for example the musicals of Stephen Sondheim: Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Little Night Music, Assassins, etc.

But even just recently I saw Billy Elliot (based on the film) and it was surprisingly moving and felt like an honest look at the death of blue collar miners in "Maggie Thatcher's" England.

You can deal with meaty subjects in musicals. However, you don't have to. And in fact the best spectacular musicals may have big stories, but they are distilled, as you said, into emotional punches the audience can remember. The best good example IMO being Phantom of the Opera. The lyrics are window dressing and the plot is very broad, but the emotion of the characters conveyed through the music (and the brilliant stage and art direction by Hal Prince). It had the spectacle of the crashing chandelier and foggy sewer systems. But it was grounded in emotionally moving music that conveyed emotions everyone can relate to (love, loss, loneliness, isolation, longing, mourning, etc.).

Spider-Man as a musical on the other hand just looks like a lot of noise. Rock musicals can work (Rent, Next to Normal, reportedly the Green Day musical)--but it looks like a big mess.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. Billy Elliot and American Idiot both have big flying scenes, and while I haven't seen Spiderman yet, all I've heard is that they're more effectively used in both of those musicals. I saw Billy Elliot in London, and went back and saw it again just to watch that Swan Lake scene again.

I felt the same way about Les Miserables. It was a big mega-musical and the music repeats itself throughout the show, but when I was younger I used to just put that cast album on my headphones when I was doing my homework and just listen to the story, which was amazing. I still love that show (I've seen it 9 times). Phantom isn't the longest running show on Broadway because a chandelier drops into the audience at the end of Act 1...people love that love story. Same with Les Miz...that's back at Papermill Playhouse and everyone I know who's running off to see it are people who loved it on Broadway.

Billy Elliot is a great example. That image of Billy in silhouette against the miners as they were singing their song and being lowered back into mines after the strike was incredibly poignant, as was the last scene. I also thought "Solidarity" was one of the best-staged numbers I've seen in a long time.

There was a big line at the box office for Spiderman when I passed the theater on my way home last night...but with everything going on I can't even tell anymore if they're buying tickets or exchanging them.

[Venomaniac]

Saw it yesterday
Here's a brief review/plot summary:

Music- The music, since it was U2, was quite good. It was extremely catchy, and though I expected more of a rock musical in the manner of Rent and Next to Normal, what I got were some nice good songs. My personal faves: “D.I.Y world”, “Bouncing Off the Walls”, “Pull the Trigger”, “Spider-Man Rising” and “The Boy Falls From the Sky”. Some of the songs were soft and forgettable, but most were very very entertaining. I am eagerly awaiting the CD
GRADE: B
Costumes- A very mixed bag. Spider-Man himself looked quite good. It’s essentially the classic costume with the spider being a bit more red, and the legs having some slight red streaks. I personally thought it looked very cool.
The Green Goblin- You’ve all seen the pictures. Not even going there
Carnage- Excellent. I know some people claimed it looked plastic, but I thought it was really really cool.
Kraven- Ehh. It was the classic look, which was good, except that the lion jacket roared. Yes it roared like a real lion. It had a mouth and everything. Quite strange.
Lizard- A green T-Rex with Curt’s head in the middle of the back. Really really bad
Electro- I liked it a lot. Very close to the classic look except for the bottom of his face was covered as well.
Swarm- Electabuzz with bees sticking out of him
GRADE: C
Set Design- This was fantastic. It reminded me a lot of a classic comic book, with buildings popping up at odd angles, and a huge silver ramp that the characters swung off of. The school set looked quite nice, and the flats for the school, house, and the city were painted quite well. It’s a bit hard to describe, but quite nice
GRADE: A
Choreography- WOW. Just WOW. Everything went fine with the flying tonight, and it was a true spectacle. Again, it’s hard to describe because it was great seeing Spidey swing all around. I was in the first row of the balcony so He landed right in front of me a few times (as did Gobby and Arachne). Such a joy to see and the absolute best part of this experience
GRADE: A++
Book- I am now going to summarize the ENTIRE show. MAJOR MAJOR spoilers!


Well…. This was…. *sigh*
It starts off with the ancient myth of Arachne and Athena. If you don’t know it:
Arachne was the daughter of Idmon of Colophon, who was a famous wool dyer of Tyrian purple. She was a fine weaver in Hypaepa, a city in Lydia.[4] She was as skillful as the finest artist of the day and much praise was given to her in Hypaepa, where she had her workshop.
This all went to her head and eventually Arachne became so conceited of her skill as a weaver that she began claiming that her skill was greater than that of Athena,[5] the goddess of wisdom and war as well as the weaving arts. Athena was angered, but gave Arachne a chance to redeem herself. Assuming the form of an old woman, she warned Arachne not to offend the gods. Arachne scoffed and wished for a weaving contest, so she could prove her skill. Athena dropped her disguise and the contest began.
Athena wove the scene of her victory over Poseidon that had inspired the people of Athens to name their city for her. According to Ovid's Latin narrative, Arachne's tapestry featured twenty-one episodes of the infidelity of the gods, disguised as animals: Zeus being unfaithful with Leda, Europa, and Danaë.
Even Athena admitted that Arachne's work was immaculate. Her envy at such human competition drove her into uncontrolled fury and violence. Perhaps she was as well outraged at Arachne's disrespectful choice of subjects that displayed the failings and transgressions of the gods (this interpretation takes for granted a late, moralizing view of Greek myth). Losing her temper, she destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom, striking it with her shuttle, and struck Arachne on the head as well, slashing her face. Arachne, refusing to bow to Athena, hanged herself: “Nor could Arachne take such punishment: She'd rather hang herself than bow her head.” (The alternative moralizing perspective suggests that she "realized her folly and was crushed with shame.").
In Ovid's telling, Athena took pity on Arachne. Sprinkling her with the juices of aconite, Athena loosened the rope, which became a spider web, causing Arachne to lose her hair, her ears and nose, metamorphosing into a spider. "So you shall live to swing, to live now and forever, Even to the last hanging creature of your kind." Ovid suggests Athena's action was as much spiteful as it was compassionate.

So it then cuts to four comic geeks trying to make the best Spider-comic ever. Their names: Jimmy-6, Miss Arrow, Professor Cobwell and Grim Hunter. The names seem to have been drawn from a hat as they are just average comic-reading teenagers. That being said, they are portrayed as really geeky, and I got a little offended by it. Now for the first act, Arachne is flying around as a spider and singing for no reasons whatsoever, so just ignore her for now. We then go to Peter at Queens High School (yup-No Midtown) who basically shows his knowledge of chemistry and mythology. Flash and his gang (Kong, Boyle, and Meeks) get pissed at that and beat him up the song “Bullying by Numbers”. Now the lyrics feature them saying comicy phrases like “pow” and wham” giving horrid flashbacks to the 60’s Batman show and getting me really annoyed (sadly that’s not the end of the biff-wham-pow crap). Anyways during the fight, Flash finds that Peter wrote that “PP loves MJ”. Since MJ is his girlfriend, Flash beats him up some more.

I forgot to mention something VERY important: this is the Raimi Spider-Man movies on stage. My second biggest problem with the book is thatwhile they drew from the source material, the source mateiral was mainly the movies…almost word-for word at points.
So Peter begins walking home and MJ follows him because she lives next door. They have an awkward conversation, then go to their respective homes. MJ’s father screams at her, and Peter has a fight with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Pete is pissed off, MJ is bland movie MJ
Then the school goes on a field trip to Oscorp, where we meet the two Osborns- Norman and Emily. Yes, you read that right. Harry isn’t in this…Emily is . Norman in this is a grey-haired southerner who is concerned about the environmental issues of our era and seeks to correct them. He tells the students that genetic engineering can solve all the problems of our world in a nifty number called “D.I.Y. World”. Now this idea was something I REALLY liked and had a lot of good potential. I also really liked this version of Norman, though I’m not sure how in-character he was. Patrick Page brought a lot of energy to the role and made it the best in the show. Anyway, Pete offers to take MJ’s picture-just like the move. And gets bitten by the spider not long after. Just like the movie.
Peter soon finds out he has spider-powers and begins to experiment with them, beating up the bullies who tormented him (unfortunately, this occurs in the gym locker room and the back of the wall is filled with comic-book action words like Zap ands Pow that made me really annoyed. I felt it gave comics a bad name (seriously: this shouldn’t be the 60’s Batman cartoon! Fortunately the comic action words are never used again). He soon realizes he can get a car to impress MJ since he sees Flash with one…just like the movie. Then he goes to the ring and fights Bonesaw McGraw (who is a blowup doll) as the Human Spider…just like the movie. The next scene is…interesting.
He goes home and Flash’s car is being stolen. Flash yells at Peter to help, but Peter ignores him since it’s not his problem (seriously…what could Peter have done in that situation, even if he wanted to help?) Then Uncle Ben runs into the street and gets hit by the car (it’s not clear if it was an accident or not). Peter says it’s all my fault a few times, then becomes Spider-Man and starts swinging around. That’s all. Uncle Ben was in one other scene, fighting with Peter. And I felt they really didn’t explain why he became Spider-Man at all. And the car crash instead of the burglar…
Back to Norman Osborn. After hearing about Spider-Man in the papers, Norman starts wondering if his ideas for genetic experimentation of been stolen. His 4’o’clock- a group of military officials who want an army of supersoldiers, start discussing the idea and start convincing him. Not helping are the fact that much of his staff has left, possibly with valuable secrets that are now being used in this “Spider-Man” (funnily enough, one of the scientists was named Romita Stracyznski- one of the two comic references you will see). So he is getting pressured by the military and more than a bit paranoid that Spider-Man is his ideas- stolen by a competitor. This was the only concept of the show I LOVED because it is such an interesting idea for Norman. Meanwhile Peter gets a job at the Daily Bugle- well he just shows up out of nowhere and gives Jonah (who was portrayed very well, though he didn’t talk as fast as I would have liked) the pics. No explanation or logical reason for it. Moving on…
Meanwhile Norman decides to test his next experiment on himself with Emily reluctantly agreeing, since he feels time is of the essence. The experiment goes wrong, Emily is killed, and Norman is transformed into the Green Goblin. He holds Emily’s body and weeps, swearing vengeance on the world. Now remember when it was announced they were merging Doc Ock and the Green Goblin? THIS is what they meant: Alfred Molina’s Otto Octavius in Norman Osborn’s body.

Now I never read the issue, but apparently there was a comic where Spider-Man and the Green Goblin had this big epic battle off-panel. That’s what happens here. There is a scene at the Daily Bugle where reporters rush in and assault (metaphorically) JJJ with stories of this Bat-character attacking military officials and anti-environmentalist groups. Then another reporter says that Spider-Man is fighting him. Awesome! DO we get to see it? Nope. We get to hear about it, then we go to the battle ground, where Spider-Man is unmasked and his hands tied, the Green Goblin next to him, playing on a piano singing about how he’ll take Manhattan. So we don't see the fight at all. Wonderful. Then the Goblin talks to Spider-Man, and if you remember the scene from the movie on the roof top…you pretty much know what happens. During this, the Goblin threatens Aunt May and MJ and does his best Willem Dafoe impression (which is actually very good). Then he reveals MJ is hanging on the Chrysler building and he drops her. Spidey saves her and the two fight. The Goblin gets the upper hand then decides to tie Mary Jane to the piano and push her off to her death.
No, I’m not joking.
Spider-Man then quips how he also tied the Goblin to the piano when he wasn’t looking. So the piano falls, Spider-Man (somehow) saves MJ, and you see the Goblin webbed to the piano on a screen in the back, falling, and a SPLAT sound effect. Then MJ asks who Spider-Man is…just like the movie. Spider-Man says the line…exactly like the movie and swings off. And Act 1 ends.

Wait a minute…did Spider-Man just MURDER the Goblin?
Seriously…he ties him to a piano and sends him falling to his death. And NO ONE mentions anything wrong with it. That was THE worst moment of the show without a doubt.
Now I wasn’t sure if Gobby would come back, but for the moment, Spidey should be arrested for murder.
Oh and the Geek squad was commenting on stuff now and then…but they pissed me off with their stereotypes, so I’m not really talking about them
Oh and Arachne is here too, but she has absolutely no purpose in the first act. But she’s a good singer…so I guess that counts for something.

Act II starts the geeks debating who the ultimate villain is now that the Goblin has been vanquished (that’s the word they used. I guess the fact that their favorite hero technically killed him in cold blood didn’t really matter to them much. ). One guy picks Swarm, who he notes is a Nazi Scientist made of bees. The other guy picks Carnage. He doesn’t clarify who Carnage is, he just says Carnage a bunch of times like we’re supposed to know. Then we have a parade of the Sinister Six, who Spider-Man vanquishes. Everyone loves him. Then he has this weird dream with Arachne where she calls to him and says she chose him and he is the only one that can help her. SO she has absolutely no purpose in the first act, and now she is doing weird things like saying she is responsible for creating Spider-Man. In the meantime, Peter’s personal life is getting really complicated and he missed seeing MJ’s show…like the second movie. He says “To Hell with Spider-Man” and dumps the costume in the garbage. Jameson then finds it and proudly displays it…like the second movie.
Arachne is pissed at this…she wants Peter to be Spider-Man for some unexplained reason and sings angrily about it with the Furies (which are a lot of other spider-minions. These guys can’t even get the Greek Myths accurate!). She then reveals she is cursed…though she doesn’t say what the curse is, menaing her motives STILL make no sense.
Then Peter and MJ are at a party, having a great time. They kiss…then there is a blackout. The Green Goblin, along with the Sinister Six have returned…despite Spidey having vanquished them all. We are treated to some awesome visuals of the Six (well now Seven) wrecking havoc around the world, which was the best part of the Act. Then we come to Peter being sad at what is going on to the world, and saying to MJ that it’s not his fault. MJ reassures him it’s not. Hold on a second:
Peter is running from his responsibilities and acting like a wimp. Beautiful. And then out of nowhere, Peter asks MJ to marry him…just like the third movie
Meanwhile. The Geek Squad, who were originally telling the stories, are scared away by Arachne’s spiders. Um…yay.
Then Arachne and her spiders have another musical number, where Arachne reveals this whole Goblin-S-six idea was her plan, presumably to get Peter back into the costume. Remember…she needs him for some unknown reason. Oh, and all the spiders dance with shoes on (It’s a long story, but the number requires brain bleach.
So Arachne changes from a spider to a human and goes to the Bugle. She ties up Jameson and forces him to run pro-Spidey headlines begging for his help. Peter is still being a selfish jerk so it doesn’t work, but the Seven kidnap MJ so he is forced to go into action anyway
He fights the Seven in a background screen of him punching each of them and them exploding when he does (it might be murder…) Oh and apparently Spidey had lost his powers at one point (like so many things in his show, it isn’t explained clearly) Unfortunately, MJ is thrown off the Bridge and Peter can’t save her.

Then he wakes up with Arachne near him and MJ tied up in a web-cocoon. That’s right: most of Act II was an illusion by Arachne to get Peter to become Spider-Man again. I had my face in my hands at that point. Next she reveals her motive: She needs Spider-Man to kill her and free her from her curse: her disrupted suicide.

So…after two-thousand years HE’s the only one? That’s one hell of a leap in logic and common sense. So her offer is this: He can kill her and save MJ, or he can let MJ die and live with her forever on the Astral Plane. They fight, but in the end Spidey can’t kill her (Guess there wasn’t a piano around… actually considering the fact he apparently killed EVERYONE else…it’s pretty damn funny he can’t kill her). Upon seeing this, she remarks that she knew the real Peter Parker was still inside there somewhere, and she says that now he has freed her from the curse.
If you think that makes no friggin’ sense whatsoever…you would be absolutely right.
Anyway…all is well and a banner comes down with Spidey on it. No final swing or anything. In fact there wasn’t too much spectacle at all in the second act.
The people I was with said the second act dragged and was boring. I said it was the Raimi movies on stage plus Lots of crap that made no sense. It was seriously on the level of OMD and OMIT.

GRADE: If there is anything worse then an F, this gets it. Z, maybe? I might have to go into the Greek alphabet it was so bad...

[GamerSlyRatchet]

Wow, that sounds godawful. And the names for the Geek Chorus are some of the most obscure, yet random Spidey references I've ever seen.

[DACrowe]

Originally Posted by danoyse

Agreed. Billy Elliot and American Idiot both have big flying scenes, and while I haven't seen Spiderman yet, all I've heard is that they're more effectively used in both of those musicals. I saw Billy Elliot in London, and went back and saw it again just to watch that Swan Lake scene again.

I felt the same way about Les Miserables. It was a big mega-musical and the music repeats itself throughout the show, but when I was younger I used to just put that cast album on my headphones when I was doing my homework and just listen to the story, which was amazing. I still love that show (I've seen it 9 times). Phantom isn't the longest running show on Broadway because a chandelier drops into the audience at the end of Act 1...people love that love story. Same with Les Miz...that's back at Papermill Playhouse and everyone I know who's running off to see it are people who loved it on Broadway.

Billy Elliot is a great example. That image of Billy in silhouette against the miners as they were singing their song and being lowered back into mines after the strike was incredibly poignant, as was the last scene. I also thought "Solidarity" was one of the best-staged numbers I've seen in a long time.

There was a big line at the box office for Spiderman when I passed the theater on my way home last night...but with everything going on I can't even tell anymore if they're buying tickets or exchanging them.

So you recommend American Idiot? I am a Green Day fan and have had two opportunities to see it in New York this year, but never bought the ticket. I always worried it wasn't worth the money for 90-minutes. Although, now that Billy Joe Armstrong is playing St. Jimmy it looks really appealing, but we have no plans to be in NY anytime soon. I'm sure I'll get the opportunity eventually though. So thanks for the recommendation.

[DACrowe]

Originally Posted by Venomaniac

Saw it yesterday
Here's a brief review/plot summary:

GRADE: If there is anything worse then an F, this gets it. Z, maybe? I might have to go into the Greek alphabet it was so bad...

Hey thanks for the write-up. I think you're being too harsh on the Raimi movies. Even Spider-Night Fever in SM3 was never as bad as that. Also, some things (suit in trash can, missing MJ's play, JJJ putting suit in office) did come from the comics. I'm sure U2 and Taymore took it from SM2, not realizing it all came from the comics. But that is because at least Sam Raimi and co. tried to give a fair adaptation of the character to another medium.

And as bad as a lot the stupid changes are...Archane being there; the "Sinister Six" with made up villains and unexplained Lizards and Carnages; MJ still being bland and the condescending set design and lyrics of "pow," "wham!;" and even Uncle Ben being killed by a car accident....what sounds the absolute worst is what they did with GG.

Now, turning GG into a dragon with Alfred Molina's wife is bad and an insult to the source. But making him the heart of a preachy pathetically-veiled liberal message is the worst. And I am a liberal progressive! But to turn the GG into a Ted Turner who wants to stop climate change, but gets manipulated and taken off course by shady military types who want to harness his science to hurt people....ugh. I'm progressive, but that shoehorned politics with a dash of bull **** conspiracy theories shoehorned in by Bono and Taymore reeks of preachy mediocrity.

This sounds terrible. Thanks for the warning.

[venom892]

Former Spidey writer Peter David reviews the musical. http://www.peterdavid.net/index.php/...iew/#more-5529

[Spidey_62]

I can't believe Uncle Ben dies in a car accident here. That negates the whole point of Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man. What were they thinking when they made that decision?

[venom892]

They seem to have gotten a lot of things wrong.

[Spider-Man Luvr28]

Wow. Just saw this on Twitter from Brian Lynch:

Spider-Man on Broadway. Stopped short near end. Someone took nasty fall. Screaming. 911 called. No idea what happened, kicked audience out.

No joke. No explanation. MJ and Spidey took what seemed to be a planned fall into the stage pit. Then we heard MJ screaming.

Crew rushed out. Someone called for 911. Ended the show early with no explanation. Ambulances came immediately.

That show is cursed.

More info: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...t&twt=artsbeat

[danoyse]

Originally Posted by DACrowe

So you recommend American Idiot? I am a Green Day fan and have had two opportunities to see it in New York this year, but never bought the ticket. I always worried it wasn't worth the money for 90-minutes. Although, now that Billy Joe Armstrong is playing St. Jimmy it looks really appealing, but we have no plans to be in NY anytime soon. I'm sure I'll get the opportunity eventually though. So thanks for the recommendation.

Yes! I've seen it twice and I thought it was fantastic. I'm hoping to go back when Billy Joe rejoins the cast next month, I missed him when he did the show this past fall.

There are definitely some issues with the book, they don't stray too far from the album so there's not a lot to explain what's going on between the songs so the story can be a little hard to follow. But the performances are fantastic, as well as the visuals, and the music is incredible. It's really one of the best rock shows I've seen on Broadway in years.

[DACrowe]

I always loved the AI album, even if most people think it's when "they sold out." It is just two tickets for a 90-minute show seemed a bit suspicious. But I continue to hear good things and now really wish I could see it while Billy Joe was playing in it.

As for the accident...I kind of feel sorry for U2 and Taymor. They put a lot of their own money into this and nearly a decade of work. But the show sounds awful from a fan's perspective of either the comics or musical theater. And it just doesn't seem safe. I don't know how many injuries this thing can have before they either tone it down or shut it down for fear of serious injuries or lawsuits.

Remember they want this to play 8 times a week. If it can't be done so it can go off safely every night, it doesn't matter how spectacular the stunts are if they end in tears.

Things are not looking too great for the show, I think.

[Dragon]

Originally Posted by Spider-Man Luvr28

That show is cursed.

Thsat show is just a really bad idea.

[Spider-Man Luvr28]

TMZ has a video of the fall:

http://www.tmz.com/2010/12/21/spider...adway-musical/

[danoyse]

Originally Posted by DACrowe

I always loved the AI album, even if most people think it's when "they sold out." It is just two tickets for a 90-minute show seemed a bit suspicious. But I continue to hear good things and now really wish I could see it while Billy Joe was playing in it.

I loved the AI album too, and it sounds great live with a full cast performing it on stage. It also has some AI b-sides and a few songs off 21st Century Breakdown that fit into the show really well, plus the cast performs "Good Riddance" during the curtain calls - with everyone on guitars, which is pretty cool.

I saw it with discount tickets the first time, and I saw it off TKTS the second time. The show is short, but it's worth it.

As for the accident...I kind of feel sorry for U2 and Taymor. They put a lot of their own money into this and nearly a decade of work. But the show sounds awful from a fan's perspective of either the comics or musical theater. And it just doesn't seem safe. I don't know how many injuries this thing can have before they either tone it down or shut it down for fear of serious injuries or lawsuits.

Remember they want this to play 8 times a week. If it can't be done so it can go off safely every night, it doesn't matter how spectacular the stunts are if they end in tears.

Things are not looking too great for the show, I think.

Equity just released a statement that the show won't be reopening until the safety issues are worked out. I also just read that the actor that was hurt last night has broken ribs and possibly some internal bleeding. And he's the forth actor to get hurt doing this show. That's crazy.

[The Incredible Hulk]

Originally Posted by Spider-Man Luvr28

TMZ has a video of the fall:

http://www.tmz.com/2010/12/21/spider...adway-musical/

Dont really see much. Looks like the "jump" was planned, I'm guessing he fell wrong or missed a mark of something,

[danoyse]

Originally Posted by The Incredible Hulk

Dont really see much. Looks like the "jump" was planned, I'm guessing he fell wrong or missed a mark of something,

Apparently the wire broke and he fell 20 feet below the stage. Someone on another forum I read was there last night and said the wire shot into the audience, there was a loud thump, followed by someone screaming. They cancelled the rest of the show a few minutes later.

[Frodo]

He was taken out on a strecther. That SNL skit seems to be coming true.

Taymor should stick to the Beatles, they're alot safer .