Review - Is Spider-Man Directing Itself?

You know the old saying, usually reserved for Oscar-nominated films whose directors are not likewise honored: "Did this film direct itself?"

Well, even though it's common knowledge among Broadway denizens that Philip William McKinley has taken over the direction of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, the new version of the musical, which began previewing last night, has no director named in its Playbill credits.

The final line of billing, traditionally reserved for the director, reads "Original Direction By Julie Taymor." Just above it, in equal-sized letters, is "Creative Consultant Philip Wm. McKinley."

Of course, such matters are generally decided more by contractual agreements than by an objective evaluation of the situation. Even with the four months worth of negative buzz during the previous preview period, Taymor remains a marquee name among the creative staff. And, when you think of it, there were never any major complaints about her direction of the show. The criticism was that, as co-bookwriter, she refused to make revisions that were widely deemed necessary. (Which, in a standard Dramatist Guild contract, is completely within an author's rights.) If Taymor, the director, didn't support the stance of Taymor, the author, the show might have opened a couple of months ago with positive buzz and she undoubtedly at the helm.

All of this really doesn't mean anything except for when the musical finally opens (We're assuming this version is going to open, right?) and the Tony Award rules committee will have to make an official determination as to who will be considered when the nominators choose their candidates for best director of a musical. Undoubtedly, part of the Taymor exit plan must have included an agreement as to how lead producer Michael Cohl will petition the Tonys as to who should be submitted as Spider-Man's director, but the final word belongs to the rules committee.

My early prediction is that, given the way they're billed, the Tonys will designate them as co-directors. Taymor, as expected, also retains her co-bookwriter credit, so who knows... If the show turns out to be a big hit, the most infamously disparaged theatre artist of the 2010-2011 Broadway season may wind up as one of the big winners a year from now.

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