We all know the story. Young Peter Parker's life takes an unexpected twist when he is suddenly bitten by a genetically altered spider. He wakes up the next morning to find he has amazing powers and super-human abilities, thus becoming Spider-Man. Well, this classic tale has been turned into a musical and is making its way to Broadway!
There has been mixed reactions about Spider-Man being turned into a musical. When I mentioned it to some people their reactions usually weren't pretty. Some people looked like I had just spilled hot tea down their pants while simultaneously attacking their pet dog with a sledge hammer, others gave me the classic, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" whilst running away frantically in the other direction, possibly to book a flight to Antarctica and hide in a box to escape the reality of it, and some people were delighted by the idea of Spider-Man becoming a musical! Those who are opposed to this idea may feel it will ruin the original story, and some feel that Spider-Man just wasn't meant for Broadway. Before you go and have your opinion etched in stone though, you may be excited to hear that this musical production of Spider-Man has many good things going for it.
First and foremost, this is THE most expensive musical ever produced on Broadway, ever. It is estimated to have cost over $50 million to stage, and when the musical is up and running it will have an estimated running cost of a little under $1 million per week. In order to start making a profit off of this musical, it will have to sell out every show at full ticket price for 5 years. Hopefully, with all the money put into the production, it should be a pretty amazing show. Also, with so much money on the line I'm sure everyone on the Spidey team will be working their rear ends off to make sure that this musical reaches its own personal Nirvana.
On the topic of the Spider-Man production team, they seem to be pretty reliable. Julie Taymor is directing the production and has not failed the Broadway fanatics before. She has also directed the Broadway version of "The Lion King" and if you haven't seen or heard anything about it rest assured, it's pretty amazing. Also, what would a musical be without music? Bono and the Edge from U2 have done the music for the show and we're all waiting anxiously for opening day to see what they have done with it.
"Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" begins on Sunday, November 14 at the Foxwoods Theatre, and its official opening day is Tuesday, December 21 (for those of you who might be confused, the official opening date is when the show has worked out all the flaws and when critics can release official reviews of the show). So, will you be in New York, waiting excitedly to see the show? Or will you be hiding in a box in Antarctica?
This is xoxkitkat, off to buy tickets to see my friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!
Author's Note: Sources: http://pursuitist.com/arts/julie-taymors-spider-man-turn-off-the-dark-most-expensive-broadway-musical-ever/
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/09/10/spider-man-turn-off-the-dark-details/
http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the_theater_loop/2010/08/spider-man-turn-off-the-dark-bono-edge-u2-broadway-dec-21.html
