Julie Taymor News

In the roughly five years between November of 1935 and December of 1940, the team of Rodgers and Hart opened nine new musicals on Broadway.  These included revolutionary shows like On Your Toes, which changed the use of dance in musical theatre, and the underappreciated Pal Joey, which brought new sophistication to the characters and themes that could be featured in a musical.  There were also popular hits like Babes In Arms, The Boys From Syracuse, Jumbo and Too Many Girls that introduced classic American songbook entries like 'My Funny Valentine,' 'The Lady Is A Tramp,' 'Falling In Love With Love,' 'My Romance' and 'I Didn't Know What Time It Was.'

On Friday night, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark announced that they rescheduled their opening night for Tuesday, June 14, 2011. However, the show's songwriters - U2 rockers Bono and The Edge - will not be present for most of the changes.

Nashville Opera's 2011-12 season will feature three beloved opera productions: Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata, Ruggero Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, and the Nashville Opera premiere of Giacomo Puccini's The Girl of the Golden West (La Fanciulla del West).

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, March 13, 2011 - Sunday, March 13, 2011.

On Sunday, BroadwayWorld.com has confirmed that Glen Berger, co-writer of the book who has been left out of much other press coverage and speculation is very much still on board and is at work with comic book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa on making heavy revisions to the book. These changes are said to include much cutting of Julie Taymor's additions to the already rich SPIDER-MAN mythology including both the Geek Chorus, and Arachne. Other changes will include the Green Goblin remaining SPIDER-MAN's chief rival for the entire show which will involve changing both the ending of Act 1 and the beginning of Act 2 (with a new opener by Bono and the Edge) along with many other changes in Act 2.

Last night's episode of Saturday Night Live featured a Weekend Update spoof in which Seth Myers interviewed 'Julie Taymor' about the recent events unfolding at SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK. At one point, Taymor jokes that the mega-musicals bad luck comes from the two people in charge of props named Mac and Beth.

The list of those weighing in on SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark, continues to increase, including those who have and have not seen it. Talking to the Irish Independent, Tim Rice said:

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Peter Schneider, a producer of Julie Taymor's LION KING, wrote about 'The Real Reasons SPIDER-MAN Fell to Earth.'

BroadwayWorld.com first checked with a member of the show's cast, who told us that they felt that this was surely simply a negotiating ploy by Taymor (if it was indeed true), and that her torpedo-ing the show as a whole was highly unlikely, and presumably a last resort. They did tell us that if the script was pulled, that they believed that the production would face an immediate shutdown, as opposed to the one already planned for mid-April. We checked in with a legal expert, not affiliated with the production, for their take on reports that a Dramatists Guild Contract had not be signed and if Taymor could indeed pull her script from the production.

In today's New York Post, Michael Riedel is reporting that talks have 'turned testy' between Taymor and the producers, and that she is now threading to take the entire script of the show with her, which is said to have the production in 'chaos' with producers quickly scrambling a new script. There's no word on what this might due to the production in terms of additional rehearsal time if a deal is not able to be worked out.

Lead producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris announced today that SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark has rescheduled its opening night for Tuesday, June 14, 2011. In addition, to allow rehearsal time for the new changes being implemented in the show, performances from Tuesday, April 19th to Wednesday, May 11th have been cancelled with preview performances resuming on Thursday, May 12th. This amended schedule will allow the time necessary to execute the plan, which will include revisions to the script.

Soho Rep presents the highly anticipated U.S. Premiere of debbie tucker green's landmark play BORN BAD Winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer. Featuring a powerhouse cast that includes: Crystal A. Dickinson (RUINED, CLYBOURNE PARK), Heather Alicia Simms (GEM OF THE OCEAN, A RAISIN IN THE SUN), LeRoy McClain (CYMBELINE, THE HISTORY BOYS), Quincy Tyler Bernstine (RUINED, IN THE NEXT ROOM), Michael Rogers (JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE, BREAKFAST WITH MUGABE), and Elaine R. Graham (Julie Taymor's 'Across the Universe,' PLAYBOY OF THE WEST INDIES)

Hennepin Theatre Trust today announced a stellar new slate of productions for the 2011/12 Broadway Across America-Minneapolis Season, showcasing some of the nation's best touring musicals.

Talking to Don Imus this morning, legendary New York Times writer (and soon to be New York Magazine writer) Frank Rich said 'There is no way to fix a show this far into previews, according to Broadway history... it's a fool's errand at this point, if you know, follow history.' That said however, he also revealed that he has not seen the show, which has been in previews for months, because 'life is too short.'

BroadwayWorld.com is excited to unveil Episode 4 of its newest ongoing video blog - IN THE PAPERS with Julie Halston. In this series, the hilarious actress and comedienne will talk about all the issues of the day as she goes through the latest celebrities magazines and more! Check out Episode 4 below, which also co-stars the voices of Paddle Henson and James Steele. Here, she talks about a variety of issues from Charlie Sheen to TARGET, Julie Taymor and SPIDER-MAN and lots more along with unveiling a VERY exciting new contest!

The Wall Street Journal reports today that despite going public with the news that Julie Taymor will no longer move forward with SPIDER-MAN, her exit deal has not yet been finalized. Issues surrounding royalties, copywrites, and a non-disclosure have not yet been settled upon. Tamor's camp declined to comment on the separation negotiations. Litigation is not out of the question. Taymor will officially step down as head creative on March 15, 2011.

We're told that the cast today will be meeting with Actors Equity to explore their options and union protection. Many of the cast are up in arms since they've been rehearsing the show now since August of 2010 (or earlier) with much exhaustion and no end in site. Jeremy Gerard at Bloomberg News is the first with more details on what will be cut from the show, and what changes will occur during the show's as of yet unannounced shutdown. He reports that the Julie Taymor creation of Arachne will be heavily cut down, with her scenes being minimized and cut entirely, along with the song 'Deeply Furious' in which she and her minions go shopping for shoes, also said to be a Taymor favorite. Also on the chopping block? The Green Goblin's Act I death scene, which will make his Act II appearance more logical. We're told that he'll be getting a big new Act II opening number as well.

In today's New York Post, Michael Riedel provides additional details about what's next for the show, most notably that Bono and The Edge are now expected to be fully, hands-on collaborators in the show as well as Bono himself going out to be the new 'face of the musical' for press.

Among serious doubts about the premiere next week and today's news that director Julie Taymor is out the door, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark's stars Reeve Carney and Jennifer Damiano speak out in Page Six Magazine, free inside the New York Post tomorrow. The two defend Taymor, and comment on the bad reviews and the on-stage accidents.

It's not a great day for SPIDER-MAN on Broadway, as the show was halted tonight for several minutes mid-show for safety concerns.According to audience member reports, the show was stopped at the beginning of what is one of the most extensive aerial sequences in which the Green Goblin fights SPIDER-MAN above the audiences heads. During tonight's show, the Green Goblin stopped mid-flight, after a malfunction caused his steering mechanism to fail. The actor playing SPIDER-MAN was held on the balcony from making his flight while they attempted to discover what went wrong.