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NY Times on SPIDER-MAN 'Sheer Ineptitude' and 'Beyond Repair'
By: Robert Diamond Feb. 07, 2011
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BroadwayWorld.com reported earlier that multiple critics from major newspapers have indeed purchased tickets in recent days to SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark, and amongst those expected to publish reviews in tomorrow's newspapers will be The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The New York Post.
In the New York Times, Ben Brantley writes that "You are of course entitled to disagree with our decision. But from what I saw on Saturday night, "Spider-Man" is so grievously broken in every respect that it is beyond repair. Fans of Ms. Taymor's work on the long-running musical "The Lion King," adapted from the animated Walt Disney feature, will have to squint charitably to see evidence of her talent.
True, signature Taymor touches like airborne puppets, elaborate masks and perspective-skewing sets (George Tsypin is the scenic designer) are all on hand. But they never connect into a comprehensible story with any momentum. Often you feel as if you were watching the installation of Christmas windows at a fancy department store. At other times the impression is of being on a soundstage where a music video is being filmed in the early 1980s. (Daniel Ezralow's choreography is pure vintage MTV.)
Nothing looks truly new, including the much-vaunted flying sequences in which some poor sap is strapped into an all-too-visible harness and hoisted uneasily above the audience. (Aren't they doing just that across the street in "Mary Poppins"?) This is especially unfortunate, since Ms. Taymor and her collaborators have spoken frequently about blazing new frontiers with "Spider-Man," of venturing where no theater artist (pardon me, I mean artiste) has dared to venture before."
Click Here for His Full Review
Rick Miramontez, Spokesman for SPIDER-MAN Turn Off the Dark told us that "The official position of the Spider-Man team is that critics should not review the production until invited by the production. We deem critics to be theater lovers, and to review the show before it is frozen is not, in any way, in the spirit of Broadway and all it represents."
Lead producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris announced that SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark has delayed its opening night (previously set for February 7, 2011) to Tuesday, March 15th to allow for more time to fine-tune aspects of the show, including the new ending. Directed by Julie Taymor and featuring a book by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger, and new music and lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark is now in previews at Broadway's Foxwoods Theatre (213 West 42nd Street).
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