Official: SPIDER-MAN Brings On Consultant; 6th Delay Likely for Opening - Possibly AFTER the Tonys!

The hits just keep on coming for SPIDER-MAN, but some help is on the way to the show. The New York Times is reporting and we've confirmed that the show has officially brought on Paul Bogaev, a multi-award winning music director-producer, arranger and composer to work on improving the show's many sound issues, including to 'help improve the performance, vocal and orchestration arrangements, and sound quality of the songs and numbers'.

Word has also been coming from multiple sources that it's expected that the production will officially announce another delay later in the week (its sixth) that might push the official opening as far forward as AFTER this year's Tony Awards.

The Times is also reporting that "Bono and Edge are writing new music for "Spider-Man" now, but Mr. Miramontez said that Mr. Bogaev's role was far greater than adding that music once it is ready. No significant additions have been made to the score so far."

Paul Bogeav is a music director-producer, arranger and composer. He supervised and conducted the music for the Academy Award winning film CHICAGO and was Executive Producer of its GRAMMYAward winning soundtrack. He won his first GRAMMY for arranging, orchestrating, underscore composing, and producing the music for Elton John and Tim Rice's AIDA on Broadway. AIDA also won the TONY Award for Best Score. Paul's other Broadway Credits include TARZAN (as Music Producer), BOMBAY DREAMS (Music Supervisor and TONY-nominated Orchestrator), and as Music Director, SUNSET BOULEVARD, LES MISERABLES, CATS, ASPECTS OF LOVE, CHESS, and STARLIGHT EXPRESS. He also wrote and produced songs for a stage production of THE THREE MUSKETEERS which recently ran for four years in Europe . His other feature film credits include DREAMGIRLS, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, CONNIE AND CARLA, and the animated DISNEY films, LION KING, TARZAN, MULAN, and THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE. For ABC Television, Mr. Bogaev was Music Director for CINDERELLA, SOUTH PACIFIC, and ANNIE (EMMY AWARD). As a Conductor, he directed the music for Francis Coppola's presentation of the silent movie epic NAPOLEON with symphony orchestras all throughout the world. He also conducted Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman in the concert THE MUSIC OF Andrew Lloyd Webber and Barbra Streisand's recording, HIGHER GROUND. Mr. Bogaev has also worked with Phil Collins, Sting, Toni Braxton, Brandy, Whitney Houston, Richard Gere, Whoopi Goldberg, Glenn Close, Hugh Jackman, Renee Zellweger, Catherine Zeta Jones, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Kathy Bates, Drew Barrymore, Liam Neeson, Michael Bolton, Harry Connick, Jr., and most recently recorded the soundtrack for the new movie musical NINE with Daniel Day-Lewis, Sophia Loren, Dame Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, and Fergie. Mr. Bogaev studied at Cornell University and the Juilliard School . He was born in Philadelphia and educated at The Haverford School where he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2003.

On Showbiz411.com today, Roger Friedman wrote that "I spoke to Julie Taymor this morning. She was working on some changes with her own co-writer, Glenn Berger. She told me she's had lots of input about changes from friends and colleagues. "No one has been hired or is being hired," Taymor said. "The director they mentioned is a friend of Michael Cohl's. I'm sure he asked his opinion. When a show's in previews, everyone gives their opinion. Try this, that. And the other guy, I've never even heard of him.""

Michael Riedel reported yesterday in the New York Post that SPIDER-MAN producers had reached out to Philip Wm. McKinley to potentially join the production as co-director along with Julie Taymor.

In response, a production spokesperson for SPIDER-MAN has issued a statement that "There is no truth to the rumor of a co-director. The production has not brought anyone on and the original creative team remains firmly in place, with Julie Taymor at the helm."

This new rumor of a co-director, comes on the heals of a report last week that the production had also reached out for help on the book to Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. Both the book and the direction were amongst the show's heaviest criticism in reviews earlier this month. There is no official word on what changes might be coming to the show, though reports from audience members have only talked about minor visible changes to date.

Word leaked out last week that producers of SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK have asked Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa to rewrite the book to the show. The original book was a collaboration between Julie Taymor and Glen Berger. This time around, the show will be reworked by a Spidey expert, as Aguirra-Sacasa has written Spider-Man comics for Marvel in the past. Additionally, he penned the book for Dallas Theatre Center's IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN!

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 and certainly the most expensive and most heavily watched productions in Broadway history.