News Taffy

On a recent Saturday night, Mark and I had a date night. In days gone by, that would have consisted of dinner and maybe a movie at the Malco. But since we are now in New York City, it includes dinner and the theater! I have a minor in theater, and I'll go see just about any live performance on a stage. I have seen some of the best Broadway performers like Chita Rivera, Stockard Channing and John Lithgow and some really bad stage actors like Katie Holmes. I've seen some amazing and horrible shows in both London and on Broadway. And most recently, I've seen Spider-Man - Turn Off the Dark.

All of the media attention around the show, its budget, aerial stunts, the producers and near death moments during preview performances sparked my interest in this show. I am not a fan of Spider-Man really. Now, Superwoman, that is a show I'd really love to see. I had and still have a feeling that this show is not going to make it. I do hope I'm wrong, but all of the energy around the production indicates otherwise. I feel as if it's dying a slow death. Just the way a spider traps and kills a fly in its web. It wraps it in its silk and then sucks the blood out of it! Maybe that is what is happening to Spider-Man, too. And for that reason, I knew we'd better get tickets to the previews if I wanted to see it.

Unlike the critics, I really enjoyed the show. I'm a huge U2 fan and thought the music was incredible. It contained what you might expect, which was lots of guitar, a great beat and good lyrics. The visual design of the set was spot on with the comic book feel and look. Even down to the details on the actors costumes. I'll do my best to explain, so here goes. You know the black lines that are used to create what I would call 'emphasis'? The costumes had those details. The set did, too. With the exception of the part of the show that was electrified and being shown on a video scene similar to the one Madonna used during her recent world tour concert. Think really tall and narrow movie screens set up three across and two deep and staggered.

Arachne is the character who gives Spider-man his powers but also wants his love. There are some intense and complicated scenes between the two of them. Arachne's time on the stage is actually spent suspended over the stage. She's a spider after all. She and Peter Parker get tangled up on many occasions. So tangled, in fact, that she almost lost her microphone during the performance.

The special effects of this show are off the charts. The biggest effect, in my opinion, is the choreography involved between the Green Goblin and Spider-man. The two of them are suspended and flown over the top of the crowd sitting in the orchestra section. While they are flying overhead, they are also fighting with each other!! I kept thinking, "please don't fall in my lap!". And they didn't. At least not at this performance anyway. There are several more aerial stunts to this show but I won't give them all away in the event that the show does officially open. If it doesn't, then I'll be back to spill the beans on the rest of the performance.

Now that I've had time to absorb the show, director Julie Taymor has been asked to leave and the March 15th opening date has been rescheduled, I have some ideas about what I think they should do. First of all, they need to take this show to Las Vegas. It's more Vegas than Broadway by far. It's too flashy and too "current" for the New York City critics. It's Spider-man after all. Not the Phantom of the Opera. This show takes every element of old school Broadway and merges it with the most advanced technological effects of 2011. I don't see how you could tell the story of Spiderman without all of the bells and whistles though. How can you make a man who crawls all over buildings, crawl all over buildings without some really advanced special effects, safety harnesses and cables? There are so many cables on the stage that you aren't sure if it's supposed to look like a spider web or just a bunch of safety cables. According to Mark, the second act needs to be re-worked. And he's right, it was a little slow and disjointed.

Once again, I liked what the critics trashed! It was entertaining which is why I go to the theater. And now that it's being "revised", I'll probably go see it again if it ever gets out of previews and actually makes opening night! The special effects were over the top. The vocals were strong and the costumes were very creative. For me, that is a great combination for a very exciting evening on Broadway.

-D.J. Duckworth