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Opened or not, 'Spider-Man' gets reviewed

The much-delayed, acccident-prone, most expensive musical in Broadway history finds itself on the horns of critics

February 8, 2011 at 4:16PM

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

"Spider-Man - Turn Off the Dark" is caught in a web.

The much-delayed, accident-prone, most expensive musical in Broadway history is getting reviewed, whether its producers like it or not. And the critics are drawing blood from a show that has become the butt of jokes for its actor spills, including that of stuntman Christopher Tierney.

Traditionally, producers use preview periods to correct issues with shows -- issues that are not wholesale. And because the shows are not in their final form, audiences get a break on ticket prices.

But not with "Spider-Man," which has reportedly cost $65 million to mount and features the work of such heavyweights as director Julie Taymor, who helmed "The Lion King" and who co-wrote the Spidey book, and Bono and the Edge from U2, the usual practices went out the window.

For starters, the musical has been in previews since the fall, when blogs and audiences began to get a gawking peek at it. Its official opening has been delayed five times.

And the producers are charging full price for admission, with premium tickets costing up to $332.40.

Some critics weighed in several weeks ago, savaging the show. Now more are having their say around the time when the show was to have opened (the official opening was pushed back to mid-March).

Chris Jones at the Chicago Tribune faults its "incoherent story." "[T]here is a fundamental discomfort, and thus disconnect, between the material, the artists engaged in its interpretation and the form of the Broadway musical."

The coup de grace for "Spider-Man" may come from the New York Times, where Ben Brantley shared Jones' sentiment:

"The sheer ineptitude of this show, inspired by the Spider-Man comic books, loses its shock value early. After 15 or 20 minutes, the central question you keep asking yourself is likely to change from "How can $65 million look so cheap?" to "How long before I'm out of here?"

Brantley faults everything about the show, including "songs by Bono and the Edge [that] are rarely allowed to take full, attention-capturing form. Mostly they blur into a sustained electronic twang of varying volume, increasing and decreasing in intensity, like a persistent headache."

At the Washington Post, Peter Marks remarks on the theme of flight:

"Taymor has found a way to send her superhero soaring above the audience. And yet, the creature that most often spreads its wings in the Foxwoods [Theater] is a turkey." Ouch.

One of the most positive "Spider-Man" reviews comes from the NY Daily News. But even critic Joe Dziemianowicz was aghast:

"The show reportedly cost $65 million and that's clearly gone into mechanics, hydraulics and aerial rigging. It seems only 10 cents has gone into the confusing story and humorless dialogue."