SPIDERMAN - TURN OFF THE DARK 1.0 vs. 2.0- Page 2

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 12:50pm

"Deeply Furious" may go down as one of the worst (yet, best) things I've ever seen on stage. Girls jumping around with additional legs with heels yelling "I'm clickin my frickin heels." I can still picture it in my head so clearly years later.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 2:00pm

Lot666 said: "Call_me_jorge said: "Lot666 said: "Justin D said: "Lot666 I totally agree with you there, best part of the show by far."

Do you (or does anyone) know what that song was called?"

Behold and wonder"

Thank you! Does anyone know if there is a studio (i.e., non-bootleg) recording of that track for sale somewhere?"

There is a demo out there somewhere. I'm not sure if Behold and Wonder is there, but on youtube there are tracks for Think Again and the love me or kill me song.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 2:17pm

I've done tons of research on the show and honestly I'm so intrigued by Julie Taymors original concept. How did everyone else feel about it vs 2.0 ?

[BroadwayAndSports]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 3:59pm

1.0 was a COMPLETE mess, 2.0 had a bland story but it served its purpose. Nobody had the power to reign in Taymor when she went too far and anytime they tried, she shut them down. The music from The Edge was actually very good but the lyrics from Bono were atrocious. 

[raddersons]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 4:33pm

MrsSallyAdams said: "I've not found a 1.0 bootleg but I will recommend co-librettist Glen Berger's hilarious tell all book:Song of Spider-Man."

This book is an absolute blast and gives you such an acute insight to how the show became what it was. Glenn, Julie, Bono... none of them look great, and most of them sound crazy.  It's a must-read for New York theater fans. It will also give you immense regret that you didn't see version 1.0 because it sounds like an amazing trainwreck.

[theatregoer3]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 4:56pm

1.0 was a complete disaster but it was still unlike anything I've ever seen. I remember being so absolutely confused by what was happening. At one point I swear Peter was having a wet dream about Arachne and then later on I think they were trying to say the whole show was a dream. Or not. It was wild and I wish Julie had finished it because it was truly unique.

I also like how the book about the show references this message board several times.

[starcatchers]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 7:08pm

1.0 was a hot mess, to put it mildly, but I was entertained. 2.0 was downright boring.

[Call_me_jorge]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 8:28pm

Was 1.0 a hot mess the same way The Room is a hot mess?

[ARTc3]

Posted: 2/5/18 at 9:43pm

I saw both versions. That's not quite accurate as 1.0 was never 'frozen' and as such was constantly changing. I saw Julie Taymor's 'Spiderman' 3 times and each time it was substantially better. I saw version 2.0 only once and like so many people before me, I found it boring. What was fascinating and 'new' became dull and pointless. (There was a great funeral scene added in the reinvented version, but otherwise it was just boring.) Had time and resources allowed Julie Taymor to finish her process, I believe 'Spiderman' would have been wonderful.

Ms. Taymor's version struggled with its second act. As Peter Parker defeated all the main villains in the first act, the story had no where to go. The second act was a rather confused hallucination created by the 'arching villain' Arachne. Basically, Peter had to battle everyone again.

In an early post there was a mention of the huge web set piece and battle that never quite materialized. I never saw it. I did see a web drop, but it lacked the spectacle that seemed to be implied at the time when the show was still being discussed in forums like this. As such, the first act closer was by far the more spectacular battle. I understand the logic behind expanding the first act into two acts. Unfortunately, the added dialogue was uninteresting and ultimately annoying.

I will also note that I was definitely in the minority when I wrote about seeing Spiderman. I was accused of being a shill because I wrote a lengthy positive review here. There was a lot of polarization around this show. Between the departure from the traditional Spiderman legacy story(s), the horrible accidents that seemed to be occurring on a regular basis, general bad press, and crazy financing, Spiderman was doomed.

Updated On: 2/5/18 at 09:43 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/6/18 at 11:23am

Was 1.0 a hot mess the same way The Room is a hot mess?

No.  Apples/oranges.

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 2/6/18 at 11:40am

I actually went to the very first preview of this show because Spider-Man is one of my all time favorite characters. The biggest issue for me was the 1.0 version was more about Arachne character and less about Peter Parker / Spider-Man. The whole scene with the villian walking down a fashion runway was absolutely ridiculous.

I saw the 2.0 version and it definitely played it way more safe and was more like watching one of the movies than anything else.

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/19/18 at 2:05pm

raddersons said: "MrsSallyAdams said: "I will recommend co-librettist Glen Berger's hilarious tell all book:Song of Spider-Man."

This book is an absolute blast and gives you such an acute insight to how the show became what it was. Glenn, Julie, Bono... none of them look great, and most of them sound crazy.It's a must-read for New York theater fans. It will also give you immense regret that you didn't see version 1.0 because it sounds like an amazing train wreck."

Mrs.SallyAdams, thank you SO MUCH for the heads-up about this book. I got a copy from my local library and found it absolutely fascinating. Regardless of whether you loved or hated the show, the story of its lengthy slog from concept to stage is a page-turner. I wish someone would publish a series of books like this!

I agree with raddersons that it doesn't really make anyone involved look good, from Ms. Taymor to the U2 guys to the book's author, and everyone in between (with one possible exception: Chris Tierney). For me, the story conjured images of a pack of people attached to a central entity (the show) by bungee cords, each pulling in their own direction and trying to drag the others along. 

I was particularly gratified by the author's depiction of Michael Riedel and Ben Brantley as nasty little vultures reveling in their power to destroy the dreams and futures of countless people (that's always been my perception of them). 

Perhaps my most important takeaway from this book is to avoid pre-judging a show based on what critics and/or other people say about it. There have been times in the past when I've read a synopsis of a show that failed to accurately convey the premise and, by coupling it with the blathering of some self-appointed arbiter of theatrical quality, I dismissed that show as something that must surely be a ridiculous pile of nonsense. Of course, there will be times when such assumptions prove correct, but a knee-jerk reaction to join the herd might also cause me to miss out on something wonderful. Or, at least something that a massive group of people put untold hours of blood, sweat, and tears into.

Updated On: 2/19/18 at 02:05 PM

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/26/18 at 2:44pm

Does anybody have any idea why "Behold and Wonder" was not included on the "Music From" CD? The song was positioned near the top of the show in both versions 1.0 and 2.0, and yet they omitted it from the CD while inexplicably finding it necessary to include two versions of Rise Above.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/26/18 at 3:46pm

raddersons said: "It will also give youimmenseregret that you didn't see version 1.0 because it sounds like an amazing trainwreck."

Like others have said, the critical flaw of 1.0 was putting what every assumed to be the big finale of the show before the intermission, and then getting into the arachnye mythology heavy throughout act two. But even when it wasn't working, it was still interesting to see them trying to do something non-traditional, all of which was pretty much removed for 2.0. But just seeing the Geek Chorus, and a lot of the stuff that got axed, and everyone working very hard to try and make a compelling show, was definitely worth checking out. I bought a house seat through a press rep for the show and they put me right on an aisle where Spiderman dropped into the aisle next to me, and then flew back up into the air, so it was a lot of fun. But you certainly knew it was not quite ready...

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/27/18 at 9:00am

haterobics said: "Like others have said, the critical flaw of 1.0 was putting what every assumed to be the big finale of the show before the intermission, and then getting into the arachnye mythology heavy throughout act two."

Many have indeed complained about the placement of the ostensible "finale" at the end of the first act, and it always makes me think about Phantom on stage vs. Phantom the 2004 movie. On stage, the iconic chandelier crash has always occurred at the end of the first act, but in the film they moved it to the end of the story.

haterobics said: "But even when it wasn't working, it was still interesting to see them trying to do something non-traditional, all of which was pretty much removed for 2.0"

I only saw 2.0, which I wasn't particularly impressed by, and I can't help but think that Ms. Taymor's original, non-traditional concept would've been more engaging to me. Also, based on the tidbits I've been able to find on YouTube, Arachne's four songs were better than most of the musical numbers that made it into 2.0.

I, too, would rather have seen them trying something new than the very "comic book literal" show that I got.

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/27/18 at 11:16am

Lot666 said: "Also, based onthe tidbits I've been able to find on YouTube, Arachne's four songs were better than most of the musical numbers that made it into 2.0."

Act Two had a decided lack of Spiderman for huge chunks, though. So while it may have been more interesting than what they ended up with, it was also not Act Two of Spiderman. It was more like Act 1 was his story and Act 2 was hers, at least when I saw it (and how I remember it at this point, heh)

[Lot666]

Posted: 2/27/18 at 1:32pm

haterobics said: "Act Two had a decided lack of Spiderman for huge chunks, though. So while it may have been more interesting than what they ended up with, it was also not Act Two of Spiderman. It was more like Act 1 was his story and Act 2 was hers, at least when I saw it (and how I remember it at this point, heh)"

Do I understand correctly that the title Turn off the Dark was, at least originally, in reference to Arachne hoping that Spider-Man would end her solitary banishment to the "shadow land"? If so, then it kinda makes sense to me that act two would be devoted to whether she is able to realize this hope. Of course, I can also see why Spider-Man purists and children would likely be disappointed/confused by this aspect of the plot, as it introduces and focuses on a relatively unknown character (but I think I still would have preferred to see that story).

[haterobics]

Posted: 2/27/18 at 3:38pm

Lot666 said: "I think I still would have preferred to see that story)."

Skipping both is probably your best bet.

[Babe_Williams]

Posted: 3/15/18 at 10:32am

broadwayboy223 said: "I hate to dig this up but I'm just so curious if a video bootleg of 1.0 exists at all? I know there are audios for sure"

I don't know what the forum's policy is on linking bootlegs, so I won't do that, but I did see a 13 minute compilation clip from Spiderman 1.0 floating around on youtube in the last week. 

[darquegk]

Posted: 3/15/18 at 10:34am

When audacity and banality fight- as they often do- banality almost always wins.

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/15/18 at 12:50pm

Babe_Williams said: "I don't know what the forum's policy is on linking bootlegs, so I won't do that, but I did see a 13 minute compilation clip from Spiderman 1.0 floating around on youtube in the last week."

I think I saw the one you're referring to. The footage is surprisingly good, but it made me so mad because I thought I was finally going to get a great recording of "Behold and Wonder"; instead, they cut away as soon as it got started. 

 

[perfectliar]

Posted: 3/15/18 at 1:18pm

Lot666 said: "haterobics said: "Act Two had a decided lack of Spiderman for huge chunks, though. So while it may have been more interesting than what they ended up with, it was also not Act Two of Spiderman. It was more like Act 1 was his story and Act 2 was hers, at least when I saw it (and how I remember it at this point, heh)"

Do I understand correctly that the title Turn off the Darkwas, at least originally, in reference to Arachne hoping that Spider-Man would end her solitary banishment to the "shadow land"? If so, then it kinda makes sense to me that act two would be devoted to whether she is able to realize this hope."

"Turn Off the Dark" didn't appear as a song until act two. It basically functioned as a motivation piece, as you said, but the "shadow land" was never really explained as a literal place. The song and Arachne's attractions to Peter serves as a way to say that she realizes she's not the only "spider person" out there, and she desired to keep Peter for herself so that she wouldn't be alone for eternity, as fated by Athena. So the "shadow land," in context, isn't a real place, but a mindset... or maybe it was a real place? I saw the show twice, 1.0 and 2.0, and that was never made clear.

So I started leaving this comment to answer your question in the negative, but now I'm thinking maybe you're right. That it wasn't made clear was yet another shortcoming of the book.

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/15/18 at 2:46pm

perfectliar said: "So I started leaving this comment to answer your question in the negative, but now I'm thinking maybe you're right. That it wasn't made clear was yet another shortcoming of the book."

Hey, you tried!  But seriously, I believe Ms. Taymor still had some work to do to iron out her original book concept, but they pulled the plug on her. I guess they had already gone too far past their deadline.

[perfectliar]

Posted: 3/15/18 at 4:35pm

Lot666 said: "I believe Ms. Taymor still had some work to do to iron out her original book concept, but they pulled the plug on her. I guess they had already gone too far past their deadline."

I saw 1.0 pretty early on (I think it was December 13), and from what I'd gathered, they weren't making a whole lot of book or score changes at that point; it was mostly tech stuff, and I think that rang true pretty deep into 1.0's preview period. (I'll have to re-read Song of Spider-Man to see if I'm remembering correctly.) And it wasn't even that Taymor's concept was bad; it just struck an awkward balance between drama and comedy. Tonally, it seemed to want to be like Spider-Man 2, a bit darker and grounded, but then the style was very much like a comic book, with ridiculous moments like the Bonesaw fight, "Deeply Furious," and the dream wedding between Peter and Arachne. She could have worked really well as a misunderstood villain if there was more care taken in crafting her that way, rather than having her (in 1.0) come across as first a tragic character and later like a psycho ex in a Lifetime movie.

But with all the issues with the tech and money, I don't know if those changes ever would've come to fruition. So even though it's cool to think of what could have been, I do think the producers ultimately made the best decision in scrapping a lot of Taymor's vision.... though who told them "A Freak Like Me Needs Company" was a good idea for 2.0 is beyond me.

[Lot666]

Posted: 3/16/18 at 8:21am

perfectliar said: "with all the issues with the tech and money, I don't know if those changes ever would've come to fruition"

I think that's ultimately what killed it - the tech was so complex and fraught that there simply wasn't enough time and resources to address the needs of the book as well.