RIALTO CHATTER: SPIDEY Pushes Opening Back to January

As BroadwayWorld reported last night, according to the NY Times, the Broadway run of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was rumored to be postponed once again; this time, because of safety issues. inspectors from The New York Department of Labor visited the Foxwoods Theatre to take a look at the flying devices and methods being used. Because they saw only some of the dozens of aerial stunts in the show, delays in the opening are likely. If the Department of Labor approves of the rest of the stunts in the next 10 days, then performances will begin on November 14.

Today, the New York Times has updated their report and suggests that the show will in fact push back its opening and start of performances by two weeks and open in January instead of December 21 as originally announced.  The delay, however, is not just to ironing out safety issues.  Reportedly, the production creatives feel they need more time to piece together the material and staging elements.  To read the full report in the New York Times, click here.

Said New York Labor Department spokesman Rosales regarding the safety issues, "The producers were not prepared to demonstrate all of the maneuvers today, as they were supposed to, because they weren't ready for the all of the flying and aerial work to be shown. We made it clear that we need to see every maneuver before they are legally allowed to hold their first performance. This is a unique production, with an unprecedented amount of activity going on directly above audiences, so we want to see each one of those activities demonstrated."

Spider-Man spokesman Rick Miramontez said in response, "The plan has always been to present aerial sequences to the inspectors in stages, as they are developed. This has and will necessitate several visits to the theater."  

SPIDER-MAN stars Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, Patrick Page,Natalie Mendoza, Michael Mulheren, Ken Marks, Isabel Keating, Jeb Brown, T.V. Carpio, Mat Devine, Gideon Glick, Jonathan Schwartz, Matthew James Thomas, Laura Beth Wells, Matt Caplan,DWayne Clark, Luther Creek, Gerald Avery, Collin Baja, Marcus Bellamy, Emmanuel Brown, Erin Elliott, Dana Marie Ingraham, Ayo Janeen Jackson, Heather Lang, Ari Loeb, Natalie Lomonte, Kevin Loomis, Kristin Martin, Jodi McFadden, Kristen Oei, America Olivo, Jennifer Perry, Kyle Post,Brandon Rubendall, Sean Samuels, Dollar Tan, and Christopher Tierney.

Drawing from more than 40 years of Marvel comic books for inspiration, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark spins a new take on the mythic tale of Peter Parker, a teenager whose unremarkable life in Queens is turned upside-down-literally-when he's bitten by a genetically-altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to the ceiling. Bullied by his classmates and tortured by an unrelenting crush on next-door-neighbor Mary Jane Watson, this science geek discovers he has suddenly been endowed with astonishing powers. He soon learns, however, that "with great power comes great responsibility." Maligned by the media, buffeted by financial woes, and stretched thin by the expectations of the world-at-large, Peter now must struggle to navigate the perilous and peculiar demands of being a web-slinging superhero. With the characters in SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark ranging from old familiar favorites to supervillains never-before imagined, Spider-Man's battles will hurtle the audience through a story both recognizable and unexpected, culminating in an eye-popping, ultimate test for this iconic figure.

SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark features music and lyrics by 22-time Grammy® Award-winners Bono and The Edge of U2 with direction by Tony® Award-winner Julie Taymor (The Tempest, Across The Universe, The Lion King) and a book by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger (Underneath The Lintel).

The creative team includes Daniel Ezralow (Choreography), George Tsypin (Scenic Design), Academy Award®-winner Eiko Ishioka (Costume Design), Tony® Award-winner Donald Holder(Lighting Design), Jonathan Deans (Sound Design), Kyle Cooper (Projection Design), Julie Taymor(Mask Design), Campbell Young Associates (Hair Design), Judy Chin (Makeup Design), Scott Rogers (Aerial Design), Jaque Paquin (Aerial Rigging Design), David Campbell (Orchestrations & Arrangements), Teese Gohl (Musical Supervision), and Kimberly Grigsby (Music Director). Casting is by Telsey + Co.

SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark is produced by Michael Cohl, Jeremiah J. Harris, Land Line Productions, HELLO Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Billy and Fernando Rovzar Diez Barroso, Jeffrey B. Hecktman, Omneity Entertainment/Richard G. Weinberg,Nederlander Organization/James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, S2BN Entertainment, JAM Theatricals, the Mayerson/Gould/Hauser/Tysoe Group, and Patricia Lambrecht, by association withMarvel Entertainment.

American Express Cardmembers may now purchase tickets during an exclusive pre-sale offer via Ticketmaster.com / (800) 745-3000. Any ticket buyers who previously purchased tickets to SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark and were fully refunded have been contacted by Ticketmaster and given priority access to purchase again. Tickets will be available to the general public in September, also via Ticketmaster.com / (800) 745-3000. Tickets are priced from $67.50 - $135 for weekday performances and $67.50 - $140 for weekend performances.

For more information, visit http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com/.