John Simon Calls for SPIDER-MAN Reviewers to Wait for Official Opening

Noted critic John Simon has expressed his opinion on the debate that seems to be taking place among newspapers, websites, and readers alike: should reviewers wait out SPIDER-MAN Turn Off the Dark's lengthy preview period, or review the show while still in previews?

While Michael Reidel of The New York Post has been outspoken in his column about his stance on the subject - that tickets are being sold at full price, and therefore the reviews shouldn't hold back either - Simon suggests that critics should wait until SPIDER-MAN's official opening date, should it come down to March 15th or even another delayed date.

"[W]e should leave Spidey and the creative team alone to do their work due to the fact that musicals are complicated of themselves let alone trying to coordinate all the never before seen technical elements that are being attempted in this show," John Simon wrote in his blog; "I applaud the creative team for taking the time they feel they need to rehearse the new cast members safely and insert rewrites to enhance the show...to not acknowledge the time needed to accommodate technical advances is absurd."

He mentions Time Out New York columnist Adam Feldman's recent editorial also, in which Feldman states that "Everyone familiar with the history of musical theater knows the central role that out-of-town tryouts-which, again, were essentially previews for a nonlocal crowd-have often played in the development of Broadway's classic shows. Great musicals are immensely hard to craft, and frequently need time to evolve in front of audiences. I don't know if Spider-Man will be great, but I think it deserves that time...so long as the show's work-in-progress status is made clear to ticket buyers, that is not necessarily a terrible development."

Read John Simon's full blog entry here.

Featuring direction by Tony® Award-winner Julie Taymor (The Tempest, Across The Universe, The Lion King), music and lyrics by 22-time Grammy® Award-winners Bono and The Edge, a book co-written by Taymor and Glen Berger (Underneath The Lintel) and one of the most iconic title characters of all time, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark is the most ambitious production ever undertaken on Broadway. Opening night is currently set for March 15. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling (877) 250-2929. Tickets are also available at the Foxwoods Theatre box office Monday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Photo Credit: Annie Leibovitz