Tony Tuesday: SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK

Today we’re going back to the early 00’s for some record-breaking rock musical theatre. Today’s TONY Tuesday IS:

“If The World Should End” from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. 

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is a 2011 musical using the infamous superhero Spider-Man created by Marvel comics. The story combines several plot lines of the comics and like the 2002 film, focuses primarily on school kid Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man, his relationship with his Aunt and Uncle, his love interest Mary-Jane Watson and scientist Norman Osborne who ultimately becomes Spider-Man’s first proper villain: The Green Goblin. 

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is probably one of the most infamous musicals in Broadway history. The show itself was plagued with troubles from inception to run. Several actors injured themselves during stunts, either leaving or coming back several months late, creative issues led to the original Director Julie Taymor leaving and launching a lawsuit against the production, as well as having the longest preview period in theatre history, AND a record-breaking budget of over $75 million. 

The show started inception in 2002 after Marvel announced that a stage show would be produced. Bono and The Edge, most famously known for their band U2, were brought on board to pen the score alongside visionary Director Julie Taymor, who was most famous for her TONY Award-winning work on Disney’s The Lion King.

Initial readings were to be held in 2007 but the production underwent major delays through 2009, citing the increase in budget to $52 million. Unfortunately for the production, when Disney bought Marvel, they decided to not aid the musical financially or take any form of control. In 2010 the production finally secured The Foxwoods (now Lyric) Theatre but was again delayed due to fundraising issues. As well as a now estimated budget of $65 million, it was estimate that the production would cost an additional $1 million per week in running costs.

The production opened for previews in November 2010 and the fixed position of an opening night became one of the biggest questions in Broadway gossip history. The show itself was the most technologically advanced show Broadway had ever seen and amongst its boundary breaking sets, costumes and LED screens, it included a custom-made aerial rig to facilitate the 27 intricate flying sequences the show had choreographed into it.

Due to the constant ambiguity of when the show would open, most critics published their reviews on 7 February 2011. The show was reviewed negatively and closed for a month of rewrites between April and May. At this time, Julie Taymor left as Director with Creative Consultant Philip William McKinley taking over, and with Chase Brock joining for additional choreography.

After several delays and a whopping 182 previews, the show finally opened on 14 June 2011. The overhaul had an effect on the standard of the show and how it was received by critics, however, the reviews were more mixed than positive. Although it was not a hit with the critics, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark created such a buzz, it was a hit with the audiences and also broke another record as the highest-grossing week in Broadway history, taking a mega $2.9 million over nine performances. The show surpassed most people’s expectation of an early closure and lasted until 4 January 2014, due to slowly falling tickets sales. 

The rest of the show’s creative team included Julie Taymor, Glen Berger and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa as book writers, Daniel Ezralow as Choreographer, George Tsypin as Scenic Designer, Eiko Ishioka as Costume Designer and Donald holder as Lighting Designer and Scott Rogers as Aerial Designer. The opening night cast included Reeve Carney as Peter Parker, Jennifer Damiano as Mary-Jane Watson, Patrick Page as The Green Goblin and T.V. Carpio as Arachne.  

The show was also infamous for being plagued with accidents to cast members. The most infamous being that of Christopher Tierney, a stunt performer who during early previews fell 6m from the stage into the orchestra pit because his harness was not connected to the safety cord. Contrary to popular belief, Tierney did not die and after healing and rehabilitation, he re-joined the show for its opening night. 

Upon the show’s Broadway closure, it was announced that it would transfer to Las Vegas and again undergo creative rewrites to improve it. They were also said to be scouting venues in London and Germany. It was then announced that the show would do a North American tour of regional arena venues in place of the Las Vegas production, however none of these plans are yet to have come to fruition. 

Besties, I managed to see it on Broadway and when I tell you it was visually the most mind-blowing thing I have ever witnessed; I’m telling you no lies. Give it a listen!

‘Song of Spider-Man’, a book chronicling the journey of the musical, is available to buy on Amazon.

Cast recording available on streaming services. 

FACTS:

Music: Bono & The Edge
Lyrics: Bono & The Edge
Book: Julie Taymor, Glen Berger and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Theatre: The Foxwoods Theatre
Run: 28 November 2010 – 4 January 2014 (182 previews and around 1000 regular performances) 

TONYS:

(NOMINATED) Best Costume Design of a Musical – Eiko Ishioka, Best Scenic Design of a Musical – George Tsypin