New York Magazine to Review SPIDER-MAN Feb. 7

Many critics still haven't decided (or announced) if they'll review SPIDER-MAN, but now New York Magazine's Scott Brown says that he will review the show on February 7th and then return to see the 'final product' on March 15th. 

Brown writes "Preview performances are part of the normal, healthy development process of any play or musical. Every show makes use of them, and every critic keeps his or her distance until they're finished. (Some changes and adjustments simply can't be made without the participation of live audiences.) But the producers of Spider-Man have quite demonstrably abused, confused, and perverted this long tradition of creative civility between theatrical endeavors and media outlets, charging up to $250 for what sounds an awful lot like ... rehearsals. And they seem disturbingly comfortable continuing to do this indefinitely; indeed, we have no guarantees that the next opening date will stick, or the one after that. And so, after careful consideration, I've decided to respect the original revised opening date, February 7. A review, or something not unlike one, will appear on or shortly after that date."

Over the weekend MTV posted their review of SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark, in two parts. The first, entitled "Five Things We Liked" includes the Set Design, The Costumes, The Aerial Work, It's Family Friendly and 'Splash Page' the show's opening number. Part Two is "Five Things We Hated" and that list included The Story, The Acting, The Music, The Changes and The Difficulties. 

Also, the New Jersey Star-Ledger's music critic, Jay Lustig has gone in, noting that they considerer the number of previews that SPIDER-MAN has had to be "an unreasonably long period of time" and also cite the fact that the audience is paying non-discounted ticket prices and therefore to wait would be "absurd".

Lustig writes that "The setup at the start of the show was a bit slow. The story line in the first act was tied closely to the action in the Spider-Man comic books and the first Spider-Man movie, and was therefore easy to follow. But the less derivative, less straightforward plot of the second act twisted into tangled knots. The motivations of some of the characters were puzzling, and the final confrontation between Spider-Man and lead villainess Arachne fizzled when it should have turned furious."

He sums up noting "Theater critics may pan "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" when it opens in March. But I feel that people will still want to experience it for themselves, and that even in its current state (without the improvements that may follow), it's worth seeing. Some Broadway spectacles will always appeal more to the general public than critics, and this may be one of them. So ultimately, it's no wonder that the producers want to keep the critics away, especially when the public's curiosity - and the ever-flowing streams of publicity - keep the seats filled, day after day."

Last week, 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."

BroadwayWorld.com reached out to multiple major critics after the announcement that the opening was being delayed (again) who have told us that they were talking to their editors and expect that given that the show will now have been seen by potentially 200,000 audience members before its opening night, that they will NOT wait until opening night to review the show and were instead looking at seeing the show near to the February 7th previously scheduled opening night.

Lead producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris announced last 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. Also to that end, the scheduled performances on Tuesday, January 18 and Tuesday, January 25 have been cancelled, and all ticketholders for those performances will be offered refunds or exchanges. All other preview performances will go on as scheduled. 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). Last week, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark was the number one box office grossing show on Broadway.