This should be some expected news on the Spider-Man Broadway musical front. The NY Daily News is reporting that all preview showings of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark for the next two to three weeks have been cancelled to allow for some major “retooling” of the $65 million+ production. On top of that, director Julie Taymor is no longer involved in the musical, there’s been no confirmation on whether she quit or was fired.
Inside sources are also noting that the opening date for the Spider-Man musical – which was originally set for this coming Tuesday, March 15 – will be pushed back about another 3 months. If these reports are true this will mark the sixth time this ill-fated production has been delayed!
“Taymor is out. She’s left the building,” the source told The News.
Producers of the beleaguered $65 million play plan to shut down preview performances for two to three weeks to retool and hold new rehearsals, multiple sources told The News.
“I will say about these producers, they will do whatever it takes. They want a great show,” a member of the production staff said Tuesday night. “When others would have given up, they will not.”
Plans being worked out Tuesday also call for the show’s official opening night at the Foxwoods Theatre, scheduled for Tuesday, to be postponed for three months, according to the sources.
I have to say this about the Producers of this train wreck: They are nothing if not persistent in getting this musical to open. To me, this has just sounded like a horrid idea to begin with and the writers’, producers’, and director’s vision was just too big and elaborate for a live stage, but they have continued to press on despite injuries, rewriting, and nearly universal negative critic reviews. Apparently Glenn Beck is a huge fan – but I’ll let you go ahead and decide who you’re going to listen to: professional Broadway critics, or a loon who preys on the fears of the elderly and sheep-minded youth.
It may be the best thing to just let this die. Even if it ever does open, it looks like it could end up being just the biggest, most expensive, and widely publicized flop in the history of Broadway. Even shutting down production for a few weeks will cost more than a million dollars each day – so at what point does everyone who has invested their money just cut their losses and walk away? It will certainly be interesting to see how this drama plays out over the next several weeks and months. Hell, something tells me if someone is making a documentary about this production that will be far more entertaining than the actual musical will be . . .
Update/Contributor’s Note 03/09/11 – 11:30AM MT: In case I did not make it clear, these reports are coming from several sources close to the production. At the time of this story no official word has been given from the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark production, nor from Julie Taymor. The only thing that is being said is the insistence that the production is experiencing good ticket sales:
“The production is not commenting on the most recent speculation about the show,” spokesperson Rick Miramontez told TODAY.com. “There are no canceled performances, and last night’s show was sold out.” – MSNBC
An official comment on all of this speculation is expected to come at some point today, and of course we will bring you that information as soon as it becomes available.