Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark | |
---|---|
Music | |
Lyrics |
|
Book | |
Basis | |
Premiere | June 14, 2011: Foxwoods Theatre, New York City |
Productions | 2011 Broadway |
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is a musical with music and lyrics by Bono and the Edge and a book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, the story incorporates elements of the 2002 film Spider-Man, the 2004 film Spider-Man 2 and the Greek myth of Arachne. It tells Spider-Man's origin story, his romance with Mary Jane Watson, and his battles with the Green Goblin. It includes highly technical stunts, such as aerial combat scenes and actors swinging from "webs".[1]
The Broadway production was notorious for its many troubles. Several actors were injured performing stunts and the opening night was repeatedly delayed, causing some critics to review the "unfinished" production in protest.[2] Following negative reviews, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark suspended performances for a month to retool the show. Aguirre-Sacasa, a longtime Spider-Man comics writer, was brought in to revise the story and book. The director, Julie Taymor, whose vision had driven the concept of the musical, was replaced by the creative consultant Philip William McKinley. By the time Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark officially opened on June 14, 2011,[3] it had set the record for the longest preview period in Broadway history, with 182 performances.[4][5][6]
Critical reception of the opening was better than for the previews, but mixed, with praise for the visual effects but little enthusiasm for the book and score. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is the most expensive Broadway production in history, with a budget of $75 million. Julie Taymor contested reports of the budget on the BBC radio 4 program This Cultural Life claiming that the production cost was overstated and instead comparable to the Shrek musical.[7] In the week ending January 1, 2012, it held the box office record for Broadway sales in one week, taking in $2.941 million over nine performances,[8] until it was beaten by Wicked at the end of the year, with $2.947 million.[9] The production closed on January 4, 2014,[10] at a massive financial loss.[11]
kenrick
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).