Although SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK has seldom stopped making headlines in the past year, the team behind the musical has been all but mum on details regarding their tumultous journey. From recasting, to previews, to delays, and finally opening night - which took place just this Tuesday - there has been more attention focused on the show than any in recent memory.
A long-standing opening night tradition on the Great White Way, the fabled Gypsy Robe is bestowed upon a veteran Broadway chorus member for each opening production. In what has now become a theatrical ritual, originating on Broadway 60 years ago, SPIDER-MAN cast member Luther Creek was the recipient at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York City.
Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters will host the 13th annual BROADWAY BARKS!, a star-studded dog and cat adopt-a-thon benefiting New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies. The event, produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is sponsored by official charity partner, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) with additional sponsorship by the New York Times. The event will take place on Saturday, July 9 in Shubert Alley (located between 44th and 45th Streets, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). The festivities begin at 3:30 p.m.; celebrity presentations of pets from citywide animal shelters will take place between 5:30-6:30 p.m.
While the Broadway world is still abuzz from Sunday's Tony Awards, all eyes turned last night to another star-studded red carpet event: the much-delayed opening of SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK. BroadwayWorld.com was there to capture all of the excitement of the night, including the arrivals for the cast and creative team for the show's opening night party.
While the Broadway world is still abuzz from Sunday's Tony Awards, all eyes turned last night to another star-studded red carpet event: the much-delayed opening of SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK. BroadwayWorld.com was there to capture all of the excitement of the night, including the opening night curtain call at which Julie Taymor made a surprise appearance!
On the subject of breaking the 10:00 p.m. embargo on reviews, -Rick Miramontez, Spokesperson, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark released a statement noting that 'For The Hollywood Reporter to break the embargo and run its review before opening night curtain goes up is the epitome of bad taste. Everyone in this production has waited a very long time to get to this point, and it is incredibly disrespectful that certain members of the media won't wait a few more hours to post their reviews. We trust that no other outlets will stoop so low.'
After more than 185 previews, onstage and offstage drama, and the critics descending long before the opening, the official opening of SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK is - at last - here tonight. The New York Times has just cleared up the speculation has whether original Spider-Man creator Julie Taymor would attend the opening, having been replaced by Philip William McKinley back in March.
According to Showbiz411.com who has been fairly accurate with Julie Taymor related news, they report that 'I'm told that the show's masterful creator, Julie Taymor, is likely to attend the premiere. She should, and she should take a big bow at curtain call. Tonight closes almost nine years worth of hard work.'
After more than 185 previews, onstage and offstage drama, and the critics descending long before the opening, the official opening of SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK is at last here! We'll be bringing you our usual full coverage of the opening tonight starting with our live review roundup this evening, with pictures, videos and more to come!
Catch a sneak peek of 'SpiderMonster, the Musical,' Sesame Street's new spoof of the Broadway show as part of the program's 42nd season. New episodes begin September 2011. Also the butt of a few punches at the Tony Awards last night, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark officially celebrates it's opening night on tomorrow, June 14 th at the Foxwoods Theatre.
It's the most highly anticipated opening in recent Broadway memory, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark officially celebrates their opening night on Tuesday, June 14 th at the Foxwoods Theatre. The show features creative consultation by Philip William McKinley (The Boy From Oz), original direction by Tony® Award-winner Julie Taymor (The Lion King, Across The Universe, Frida), music and lyrics by 22- time Grammy® Award-winners Bono and The Edge, and book co-written by Taymor, Glen Berger (Underneath The Lintel) and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Fantastic Four and Spider-Man comics, "Big Love"). The first full video preview footage has been released and we've got a first look at the production that has EVERYONE talking!
In one of the most highly anticipated openings in recent Broadway memory, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark officially celebrates their opening night on Tuesday, June 14 th at the Foxwoods Theatre. The show features creative consultation by Philip William McKinley (The Boy From Oz), original direction by Tony® Award-winner Julie Taymor (The Lion King, Across The Universe, Frida), music and lyrics by 22- time Grammy® Award-winners Bono and The Edge, and book co-written by Taymor, Glen Berger (Underneath The Lintel) and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Fantastic Four and Spider-Man comics, "Big Love"). The newest production photos have been released and BroadwayWorld brings you a first look below!
Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters will host the 13th annual BROADWAY BARKS!, a star-studded dog and cat adopt-a-thon benefiting New York City animal shelters and adoption agencies. The event, produced by Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is sponsored by official charity partner, the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) with additional sponsorship by the New York Times. The event will take place on Saturday, July 9 in Shubert Alley (located between 44th and 45th Streets, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue). The festivities begin at 3:30 p.m.; celebrity presentations of pets from citywide animal shelters will take place between 5:30-6:30 p.m.
BroadwayWorld.com was there to capture the original version's final curtain call and the last performance of the show's 'Geeks' along with the last viewing of director Julie Taymor's vision. After the show, the cast met the press and fans at the stage door!
Following its historic matinee performance on Sunday, April 17, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark will take a brief, three-week hiatus for technical rehearsals before unveiling the new version of the mega musical on Thursday, May 12. The official opening night of the new Spider-Man is set for Tuesday, June 14th at the Foxwoods Theatre (213 West 42nd Street).
In a New York Times feature out this morning, The New York Times' Patrick Healey takes a look at what might be next for the trouble SPIDER-MAN musical, and reveals how those at the top have not yet lost faith. 'SPIDER-MAN will succeed...because we're thinking outside the box,' lead producer Michael Cohl famously said last August. Indeed they are, as 101 preview performances in - the longest in Broadway history - they have revamped the creative team.
BroadwayWorld.com was the first to report that multiple critics from major newspapers have indeed purchased tickets in recent days to SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark, and they have come out in force. All but a few papers have filed reviews timed to tonight's performance which was, until the most recent delay, scheduled to be the show's opening night. Here are all the reviews for SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark to date and we'll keep updating as new ones come in.
Here's what Jeremy Gerard had to say for Bloomberg:'Preview number 65 was no improvement over number 30. In fact, it was worse. After all this expenditure of talent and money, 'Spider- Man' is probably unfixable because too much has gone into making humans fly, which is not what they are good at. It imitates poorly what the 'Spider-Man' movies do brilliantly with computer graphics -- and without putting live actors in jeopardy.
Well, the major critics haven't gone in (yet) but now the Toronto Star is the latest paper to break the gentleman's agreement of holding reviews until after the official opening, an agreement which generally assumes a typical amount of previews. Critic Richard Ouzounian writes that 'The only truly amazing thing about Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, is how unequivocally awful it is...'
2010 was quite a year for Broadway with some spectacular opening nights. We'll be sharing highlights from the year in photos, videos, interviews and more throughout this final week of the year. First off is a look at some of the star and excitement filled opening night curtain calls of 2010. Photos by Walter McBride / WM Photos / Corbis
Videos
