Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

By David Sheward | Posted June 14, 2011, 3:16 p.m.

Subscribe now to and start applying to auditions! Broadway Review Spider-Man:

Turn Off the Dark Share: Photo Source: Jacob Cohn What an improvement. The

tangled plot threads that made the new musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" a

sticky mess during its record-breaking preview period have been unraveled and

woven into an exciting web of wonder.As you may recall, back in February, after the

show had delayed its opening night for the fourth time and racked up more than two

months of performances, critics—myself included—rebelled and reviewed the comic-

book spectacle. I found it convoluted yet salvageable. Julie Taymor's staging and the

book she authored with Glen Berger were a weird amalgam of fanboy esoterica,

feminist mythos, startling stage pictures, and thrilling aerial sequences, the last

created by Daniel Ezralow. Taymor wasn't satisfied with making a Broadway version

of a conventional summer blockbuster movie; she wanted to create a pop culture

epic. You can't fault her endless imagination, but she forgot one of the most

important elements in musical making: coherent storytelling. The biggest problem

was the character Arachne, an extradimensional eight-legged goddess out to steal our

hero's soul. Her story never made sense, and she threatened to usurp Spider-Man's

rightful place as protagonist. There was also a distracting Geek Chorus (get it?) that

seemed to be making the narrative up as the show went along.Well, several more

delayed openings and changes in creative personnel later, "Spider-Man" is finally

ready to swing into action. Taymor was removed from the production, though she

retains credits for original direction, mask design, and collaborating on the book.

"The Boy From Oz" director and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus helmer

Philip Wm. McKinley is listed as creative consultant, and playwright Roberto

Aguirre-Sacasa, who has also written several comic books, including "Spider-Man,"

was brought on to work with Berger on the script. The Geeks are gone, as is an

onstage rock band. Arachne has been shifted from a domineering enigmatic menace

to a peripheral spirit guide. The romance between Peter Parker, Spidey's teenage

secret identity, and Mary Jane Watson, a charming aspiring actor, has been

strengthened. In addition, Patrick Page's deliciously maniacal Green Goblin has been

promoted to main villain. This bizarre version of the Grinch fuels the now-coherent

plot, and his amazing airborne battle with Spidey atop and around the Chrysler

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Building is where it belongs—at the climax of the show rather than at the close of Act

1.Taymor's best work remains, and she deserves credit for creating several

memorable sequences. I particularly enjoyed "Bouncing Off the Walls," in which

George Tsypin's comic book–inspired sets fly apart as Peter Parker joyfully discovers

his new powers.There are still some kinks. If this is a contemporary story, why does

everyone at the Daily Bugle use typewriters and look like they just stepped out of the

1940s? (Eiko Ishioka's colorful costumes are otherwise on the money.) Bono and the

Edge's rock score is still too generic, but at least Jonathan Deans' sound design has

been refined so we can understand all of the lyrics.In the title role, Reeve Carney

intensely charts Peter Parker's journey from shy teenager to dynamic crusader. He

also powerfully rocks his vocals, as does Jennifer Damiano as Peter's loving Mary

Jane. T.V. Carpio makes for a seductively mysterious Arachne and even brings off her

kooky insect costume. Veterans Michael Mulheren and Isabel Keating bring

dimension to boisterous Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson and Peter's sweet Aunt

May."Spider-Man" threatened to go down in history as one of Broadway's biggest

flops. While it probably won't become one of the street's greatest smashes, it's now a

fun family show that will entertain fans of both superheroes and showstoppers. Was

it worth the wait? For this combination fanboy and show queen, definitely.Presented

by Michael Cohl & Jeremiah J. Harris, Land Line Productions, Hello

Entertainment/David Garfinkle/Tony Adams, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Norton

Herrick and Herrick Entertainment, Billy Rovzar & Fernando Rovzar, Stephen

Bronfman, Jeffrey B. Hecktman, Omneity Entertainment/Richard G. Weinberg,

James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, S2BN Entertainment, Jam Theatricals,

the Mayerson/Gould/Hauser/Tysoe Group, Patricia Lambrecht, and Paul

McGuinness, by arrangement with Marvel Entertainment, at the Foxwoods Theatre,

213 W. 42nd St., NYC. Opened June 14 for an open run. Tue.–Thu., 7:30 p.m.; Fri.

and Sat., 8 p.m.; Wed., 1:30 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m. (No performances Wed.,

June 15.) (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com. Casting by Telsey + Company.

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