SPIDER-MAN Producers Talk Serious Changes to 'Set New Standard'

The team behind the trouble-plauged SPIDER-MAN, TURN OFF THE DARK, which on April 17th played its final performance before undergoing a major overhaul, have kept their silence. Through highs and lows - though much more in the public eye of the latter - the cast and creative team have rarely spoken out, but now, in a new Associated Press interview, producers Jere Harris and Michael Cohl are commenting on the $65 million dollar giant.

"There's nothing easy on this show. From the time he and I took over and got involved, this has been a constant battle from every perspective," Harris explained, and Cohl concurred. "We - Jere, Michael, Bono, Edge, Julie - we set out to do something that's neigh on impossible. It just didn't quite hit the mark as well as it needed to. And so it needs to be fixed because it has to set that new standard," he said, "Otherwise, it will be a failure."

Though some theatregoers seem to have already chalked it up as such, Harris and Cohl don't see a dead end; they see an opportunity. "We recognized from the early previews that we had a lot of work to do. We got as far as we could and we had to make more serious changes." Harris said. "And that's what we did...We just don't think that we should leave and go home. We think that there are great elements to this show that we can bring out and make better."

That's not to say that they thought that it was a perfect show: "It was muddled. It was difficult to follow," said Cohl. He also admits that the characters weren't where they could have been, saying that "It lacked emotion. It lacked spirit and sincerity."

One thing that the show never lacked was offstage drama. From aerialist Christopher Tierney's now-infamous 30-foot fall, to delays both within the show and of its opening night, there's never been a shortage of news coming from SPIDER-MAN. The producers believe that their luck may be changing, though - Tierney is returning to the production during the hiatus, and they plan on opening in the early summer. Technical rehearsals are reportedly even ahead of schedule.

If everything is really improving at that rapid of a pace, the question on everyone's mind may be what took so long for the changes to occur. "I lived in denial the first couple of weeks of December. I kind of knew I was living in denial but I didn't know how deep," said Cohl. "And then around Christmas I started to go, 'Wow. It's not working.'" Still, he added, "It's a team of stalwarts that have Emmy Awards and Tony Awards and Grammy Awards and Oscar nominations. When do you stand up and go, 'You don't know what you're doing! You're wrong!"

Whether or not the overhaul will be successful remains to be seen, but the Cohl remains hopeful: "It's definitely not a normal musical. But we are back on track."

Read the full Associated Press interview here, and keep up on all the latest SPIDER-MAN news here!

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos