Spider-Man Musical Off to Tangled Start

Official word is she's too busy, but friends say she was forced out

(NEWSER) - After days of rumors , the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark made the official announcement last night: Director Julie Taymor is out. The problem-plagued musical has also been delayed yet again, this time until “early summer 2011,” according to the show’s blog . Taymor has been replaced with Philip William McKinley, who directed The Boy From Oz, and the script will be revised by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who has written for the Spider-Man comic books. More»

Problem-plagued musical not worth your time, money: critics

(NEWSER) - Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark hasn’t officially opened yet, but people are already shelling out up to $275 a ticket to see it—and considering its opening has already been pushed back five times, many news organizations “skirted Broadway protocol” and reviewed the show today, since its last official opening date was last night (before it was postponed). The verdict: not good.

• The only way to make the money they spend worth it for theatergoers is to let them in on “the national joke that this problem-plagued show has become,” writes Ben Brantley in the New York Times . “Stock the Foxwoods gift shops with souvenir crash helmets and T-shirts that say 'I saw Spider-Man and lived.' Otherwise, a more appropriate slogan would be 'I saw Spider-Man and slept.'" Everything, from the music to the sets and the plot, is “sheer ineptitude.”

$9 million on sets, costumes alone

(NEWSER) - Amid injuries, delays, and firings, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has managed to eat through $75 million, New York state financial statements reveal. To put that in perspective: The play The Book of Mormon cost $9 million, reports the New York Times . Here’s where some of the money—and time—has gone:

• $4 million to rent the theater for two years before opening (most shows need it just months in advance)
• $9 million on sets, costumes, and, er, shoes

Troubled production may be delayed yet again

(NEWSER) - The producers of the cursed Spider-Man Broadway musical are rejigging the show's musical numbers, and its official opening may get a sixth tweak, reports the New York Times . Veteran musical supervisor and conductor Paul Bogaev has been hired to revamp many of the $65 million show's musical numbers, according to a production spokesman; but he declined to comment on the possibility of opening day, currently March 15, being pushed back once again. More»

Negative reviews, money woes, poor ticket sales plague show

(NEWSER) - The abysmal reviews for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark were the final nail in its coffin, sources say. The long-troubled musical “is dead,” says one. The money is running out, tickets are going unsold, and Michael Riedel predicts it will stagger on for a few more months, but should be entirely dead by September—unless, of course, someone actually gets killed, in which case “Spider-Man could run longer than Cats,” he writes in the New York Post . More»