Spider-Man trapped in tangled web of expectation

OPINION: The most expensive show in Broadway history, Spider-Man has been lambasted by New York critics

OPINION:The most expensive show in Broadway history, Spider-Manhas been lambasted by New York critics. As the show relaunches, the producer of Riverdancewishes it well

IT’S A long, broad way. I have walked the 100 or more blocks from the tip of that Broadway canyon, where it nudges Columbus Circle, all the way down to Brooklyn Bridge. It snakes south through the neon noise of Times Square, skirts the smart chic of Soho, then the sharp edges of Wall Street, and into shabby chic land as it reaches the river.

The real estate around Times Square is the spread familiar to most. The theatre district. The scene of dreams: or the site of nightmares? Having had a bruising experience four years ago producing The Pirate Queenin the then Hilton Theatre on 42nd Street, I now watch curiously, from a safe seat in the self-same but now newly branded Foxwoods Theatre, the unfolding drama of Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, the $70 million musical with music by U2's Bono and The Edge

The show opened last November and had an extended run in previews before closing last month for reworking.

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Strange as it may seem, the cabal of influential and powerful critics who review Broadway shows seem not to like “large”.

There is one small man who simply hates "big"– Ben Brantley, theatre critic for the New York Times. For years, Frank Rich, dubbed "the butcher of Broadway", was that paper's reviewer. Now there's Brantley, branded "the bitch of Broadway". He can be funny, very funny – if it's not your show he's shredding.

Earlier this year, as the oft-postponed opening date set for February 7th was once again delayed by Spider-Manmanagement, I could almost feel the ire of the critics permeate the New York winter air.

The producers could no longer hold the critics back. On that early February date, a rage of reviewers ditched tradition and, in an agreed co-ordinated move, bought their own tickets, descended on the theatre, claws sharpened, poisonous quills to the ready.

They could no longer contain their impatience as the third scheduled premiere date was postponed.

As expected, they panned the piece. Particular venom was poured on Julie Taymor, as co-writer and director. Spider-Manis a flawed piece. But when, last February, I saw the show the same week as the critics, I shared the experience with a full house of more than 2,000 people, many of whom gave the musical a standing ovation.

It’s almost impossible to grow, for the first time, a new work in a Broadway house. Especially one with as many creative, logistical and technical challenges as Spider-Man. The form and structure of the traditional Broadway approach ensure that the rehearsal and technical process moves with the speed of a sedated snail. The restrictions are paralysing, the rules archaic, the union-control Dickensian, the costs staggering.

Sympathy is not on the side of the producer or the director, especially when actors have been injured – one was seriously hurt in the production – and when the dollar expenditure stretches into the 70 million range. Brantley said he had never seen such a “cheap expensive show”.

From the moment the curtain rose, it was clear where most of the money had been spent. Time was probably the greater guzzler of dollars. The Broadway clock is expensive. The hundreds of hours it clearly took to perfect some of the special effects and flying sequences were off the Richter scale for any Broadway show. Witnessing the staggering array of effects presented in the first 10 minutes alone, I was amazed they had even managed to successfully rehearse that much, so arduous and restrictive is the Broadway process. An arena, a tent on tour, or a specially designed theatre in Las Vegas is where Spider-Manmight have been best born.

Isn’t it a doddle to sit on the sidelines and proffer suggestions?

A few years back when the production was in the planning, I had a conversation with a very smart producer involved in Spider-Man. Visibly carrying the battle scars of my own experience with a bigger than average Broadway musical (a one-man show compared to Spider-Man!), I argued that it would be impossible, given the Broadway working restrictions and ensuing costs, to create the type of show Julie Taymor had in her head. He listened, mannerly, adopted a paternal expression of sympathy but was unable to really hear what was being said.

I understood. You just have to believe you can do it; you have to believe you are the exception; you have to believe you can make it work; you have to believe passionately.

Nobody sets out to do less than excellent work. Julie Taymor is an extraordinary talent. She conceived and directed The Lion King, one of the most beautiful, magical musicals ever. The word on Spider-Manwas that the producers gave her carte blanche with no one prepared to rein her in.

She is no longer on the Spider-Manteam and that is probably the only way forward. If you are trapped in your own creative web, wedded to your own concept, and things do not go according to plan, fresh, creative thinking is usually necessary. The wisdom of a director/co-writer dual role is questionable especially if the storytelling becomes a prisoner to the special effects. The shift from page to stage is illusive, mysterious and utterly uncertain.

Running a complicated musical in preview while attempting, as Julie and the team did, to make fundamental changes during snatched hours of afternoon rehearsal time, is akin to turning a huge juggernaut with no power-steering in a narrow cul-de-sac. It’s nigh on impossible.

It takes up to six hours to re-rehearse 30 complicated seconds of Broadway time. It’s a shocking strain on the cast who, afternoon after afternoon, rehearse a new number but then have to go on stage that night to perform the show the “old way”, as the new is not yet ready to insert. It is a nightmare unravelling the complex web of technics with each thread impacting on the next.

As deeply layered as an animation film, this live musical theatre, with flying sequences and aerial special effects, is woven together like a piece of intricate crochet.

To untangle those gossamer threads, to insert fundamental plot, script, musical and choreographic changes is an almost insurmountable challenge, all the while maintaining the safety of the cast, crew and audience.

To meaningfully rework Spider-Man, the producers closed the show down on April 19th and resumed preview performances last Thursday with the new official opening date set for June 14th. This allows the new director Philip William McKinley (Broadway's "Boy from Oz") work with the team on major changes, scrapping elements that didn't work and improving the plot lines while enhancing the characters and content with the most potential.

When it was running, the average weekly $1.26 million box office take must have given the producers some comfort as they continued to support the show. They have gone in very deeply already. They have much that is good. Audience response to the first incarnation was strong. What else is there to do but plough forward and stay on the roller coaster for the white-knuckle ride?

There is no business like show business. It attracts the strangest critters who toil for hours, like naked mole rats in a darkened theatre, mapping out make-believe, hoping to enthral.

The legendary Broadway producer and theatre owner, Jimmy Nederlander snr, was once asked what the formula was for becoming a millionaire on Broadway. He drew the air of experience deep into his lungs and rasped: “Well, you start as a billionaire.”

One thing is certain in this business: if the audience want to stay away, you can't stop them. I wish Spider-Man(Mk II) a safe and successful flight.


Moya Doherty is a leading theatre, television and radio producer, and was co-founder of Riverdancewith John McColgan