RIALTO CHATTER: Major SPIDER-MAN Reviews Coming Tomorrow!

[macbeth]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:30pm

Holy SH*T if this turns out to be true!
Click Here to Read RIALTO CHATTER: Major SPIDER-MAN Reviews Coming Tomorrow!

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:32pm

Has there ever been such a concentrated effort to kill a hit show before?

[Katurian2]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:38pm

Has there ever been a show with such a lengthy preview period before? There's no precedent for this type of situation. I for one will be sure to grab a NYT and Post at work!

[uncageg]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:48pm

I think the critics are being a bit childish and impatient. Give the show until the 15th of March to open. Now, if they change the opening date again I think the show, at that point, should be fair game for reviews. Part of me says that if it never opens, it should never be reviewed. People are going to see it if they want to. Granted, the reviews will sway some people but I feel those that do want to see it will and those that don't, won't and the reviews won't sway them. JMO

[tazber]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:48pm

Well, this is going to be a fun night.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:51pm

"Has there ever been a show with such a lengthy preview period before?"

I'm not sure why A = B? The preview period has been too long, ergo, we will all coordinate our efforts to kill the show.

I hate corporatism and the RICO act, but seriously, Team Spidey should consider making a claim.

[willheim2]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:52pm

I don't think the critics are being childish or impatient and I don't think they necessarily have a desire to kill the show.

Given the advance negativity, I would think the reviewers would go out of their way to be fair.

So if they are negative, to me, it will give them more weight.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:53pm

Has there ever been a show with such a lengthy preview period before?

Yes, but they all ended up never opening.

Posted: 2/7/11 at 1:56pm

Is that what's inspiring this? "We must stop opening night from coming!" People are shelling out big bucks to see this, the show is selling out with NO reviews- suddenly the critics are consumer affairs reporters, devoted to telling the poor ticket buyers to avoid this show at all costs!

[Tag]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 2:01pm

Does anyone think this really is going to make a difference? There has been so much bad press already for this show which hasn't done a damn thing, except maybe raise their grosses! The (bad) press seems to have died down lately, so these new reviews will do (positive) wonders for the box office!

[Katurian2]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 2:09pm

A claim for what? There's no law saying that papers can't publish reviews whenever they want. It's a courtesy.

It's for sure not a libel suit, since everything a critic writes is exempt from libel on the basis of factual assertion. And also, the group would be too large to seek damages (25+ people), and you can't sue for a show that's a public entity in itself. There's no legal basis that they could pursue, and critics can go on bashing it all they want, as long as they do it as critics and not as false news reporting.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 2:20pm

It's a coordinated effort to impede a business. Some might say.

Julie Taymor should do "The Crucible" next.

Updated On: 2/7/11 at 02:20 PM

[Katurian2]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 2:24pm

They could say it, and they may be right, but they'd never get anywhere in court with that, thank God. Such a thing would set a ridiculous standard for press freedom. What if Walmart could sue all the documentray filmmakers who've set out to show what goes on in their practice? It's terrifying to even suggest such a thing would be possible to sue for.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 2:28pm

Yep, that's the problem with RICO and it has been used that way in the past. If several major negative reviews are published on the same day, it could be argued that this is a coordinated effort.

I wish the people who would coordinate such a thing would step back and ask themselves why they would do that. But I would imagine they are being swept up in their own unhealthy Riedel glee.

[newintown]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 2:46pm

How anyone (except someone with money in the show) can care about when it's reviewed is beyond me. The buzz is essentially finished and the show has become a boring joke. Even on the chat boards, the talk has died down to a desultory yawn. Spider Man has become the Sarah Palin of theatre.

Posted: 2/7/11 at 2:50pm

Spider Man has become the Sarah Palin of theatre.

In that it is talked about incessantly and every little thing it does makes the news?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 2:55pm

I was going to go out tonight but now I think I'll stay in.

[newintown]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 3:16pm

Spider Man has become the Sarah Palin of theatre.

In that it was written about incessantly and now most people have lost interest.

[matty159]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 3:21pm

I am not so sure the reviews will make a huge difference. I think the show will more or less peter out on its own soon enough.

The buzz is indeed wearing down and now that the thrill of "accidents" seems to have dissipated, I see interest weening. A lot of tourists I have talked to who have seen the show have absolutely hated it. So, that buzz is going to travel. Mind you, I work with a very specific demographic in terms of the hospitality industry...but it is this specific demographic that would pump money into ticket sales at any cost. When you mention the show and people roll their eyes or snicker...the word is out.

Long story short (too late), the reviews may not shut the show down in the short term...it is the awful reputation and diminishing returns that will accelerate the current slow burn.

[temms]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 3:27pm

It's interesting how certain posters assume nothing but conspiracy on the part of the reviewers, but seem to have no problem with the way the Spider-Man team has spent the last four months blatantly lying to the press every chance it gets, saying that the show's opening is postponed so they can make changes, and that any review will not reflect the show that plays opening night because of all the changes that are being made.

Both the composer and director have confirmed that nothing of the sort is happening. There are no musical changes being made, nothing is being cut, the storyline is not being altered, and word from audience members is that the show is more or less exactly the same one that played the first preview but with an actual ending now tacked on.

It is clear that the postponements have not been to "work out the show's problems", the only reason seems to have been to delay the reviews for as long as possible to rack up as much ticket revenue as they could before they got slammed, all the while smearing the critics who have written about the show saying that what they were writing did not reflect the "finished" show and thus were doing a disservice to their readers.

Rick Miramontez and the producers are the ones that have perpetrated a scam here, claiming they were changing the show when they knew full well they weren't in the hopes it would counteract the (deserved) bad press.

On the other hand, I do think that this shows that Miramontez would make an ideal White House Press Sectretary for a Republican presidential administration.


Oh - and I forgot to add, I also love the way that all of the accidents have been the fault of the actors. Reeve Carney didn't "lean the correct way" and so that's why the show had to be stopped the other night. Craig Tierney didn't doublecheck his rigging so it's his own fault he fell ten feet (or was it forty? The number the Press Department gave kept changing...) And then after Natalie Mendoza left, suddenly there were reports about how no one really like her anyway and the show was better with her replacement. Class acts, all around. Updated On: 2/7/11 at 03:27 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 3:34pm

"Julie Taymor should do "The Crucible" next"

With music by Van Halen.

[GimmeABreak2]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 3:34pm

Both the composer and director have confirmed that nothing of the sort is happening. There are no musical changes being made, nothing is being cut, the storyline is not being altered, and word from audience members is that the show is more or less exactly the same one that played the first preview but with an actual ending now tacked on.

I was thinking the same thing, if previews are for adjusting the show before opening but they've said there will be no changes, I don't see the logic of staying in previews beyond not being 'officially' reviewed.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 3:36pm

If they review it now, then the Spidey team can write them off, saying "but the show isn't finished yet!" They would never have to make actual changes, but still be able to cite the reviews as inaccurate because they came before the official opening.

[willheim2]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 3:40pm

The critics don't have any interest one way or another as to whether a show succeeds. They are in the business of getting eyeballs to read the paper they work for, for providing a service to their readers, and for creating a name for themselves.

The idea that there is collusion between them over the life and/or death of this show is preposterous.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 2/7/11 at 3:45pm

I know its annoying for the critics to have to wait, but as long asthey get to review hy does it matter when? Yes its getting ridiculous, but I think its more inconvenient for ticket holders who think they have tickets to a real performance, not a preview.