NEW YORK (AP) — Broadway's "Spider-Man:
Turn Off the Dark" has already become the most
expensive show ever mounted on Broadway.
Soon it may reach another milestone: The show
stuck in previews the longest.
Producers delayed the $65 million show for the
fifth time Thursday, pushing the opening date to
March 15 to fine-tune and put in a new ending.
Lead producer Michael Cohl promised this is "the
final postponement."
The change means the show, when it opens, will
break what is considered the record for most
preview performances — 71 — held by Arthur
Laurents' "Nick and Nora" in 1991. That may not
bode well for the comic book hero, which has
enjoyed 37 previews so far and now has more
than a month of them to go: "Nick and Nora"
lasted only a week after finally opening officially.
The "Spider-Man" musical — the dreamchild of
"Lion King" director Julie Taymor with music by
U2's Bono and The Edge — hasn't been hurt at
the box office by the raft of injuries, cancellations,
the defection of a lead actress, in-show delays
and postponements.
The new opening delay doesn't really hurt the
musical, whose costs easily dwarf Broadway's
last costliest show, the $25 million "Shrek the
Musical." Though producers are charging full-
price for tickets, the show is still selling out the
1,930-seat Foxwoods Theatre in Times Square
almost each night, and last week the webslinger
tale took the week's box-office crown from the
Oz musical "Wicked."
In a statement, Taymor said: "We are so grateful
for the enthusiastic audiences who have been
coming to see 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark'
and we are dedicated to giving them the very
best show we can."
Once a show officially opens, it is considered
frozen and no more tinkering is allowed. The
latest delay was somewhat expected since a big,
spectacular finale still seemed absent. Audiences
at previews were also confused about the role of
Arachne, Spider-Man's evil love interest.
Bono and The Edge, both newcomers to writing
musicals, returned from touring this month to
help fix the show's problems. In a statement,
they said: "We are looking for the extraordinary
here and we are nearly there."
The show has been built specifically for the
Foxwoods Theatre, meaning a traditional out-of-
town tryout to fix glitches wasn't possible. Cohl
has said he considered delaying previews until
the production had gelled better, but argued that
the cast and crew had to bite the bullet eventually,
even if they risked embarrassment and bad
press.
The show's massive costs — a 41-member cast,
18 orchestra members, complicated sets and
dozens of daring aerial stunts, including a battle
between two characters over the audience —
mean the theater will have to virtually sell out
every show for several years just to break even.
The weekly running bill has been put as high as
$1 million. (Tickets are priced from $67.50-$135
for weekday performances and $67.50-$140 for
weekend performances. Top premium seats go
for more than $275.)
The delay is likely to re-ignite a simmering debate
among theater critics about how to handle
preview performances that stretch out for
months. Already the lengthy delay to "Spider-
Man" has prompted some critics to publish their
own preliminary reviews, breaking a customary
rule. They argued that the show was a legitimate
news story and that the full-price cost of tickets
meant audiences had a right to know what to
expect.
One person who is championing the show is
conservative commentator Glenn Beck, who has
seen "Spider-Man" twice and is giving it glowing
reviews both on the air and on his Twitter
account. "This is better than 'Wicked!'" he raved
Wednesday on "The Glenn Beck Program,"
which has an estimated 6 million listeners.
Years in the making, "Spider-Man: Turn Off the
Dark" had financing woes before its first stunt
was executed. Originally scheduled to open Dec.
21, the show was postponed to Jan. 11 and then
to Feb. 7. Now it will be March.
On the Net:
http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com
Source: Http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jSKFiafEpgC_XIdpYW3OQj-MtXLQ?docId=3e1ebb59b75143a2a30ff3eb185ec71b
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