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

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.

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.

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.

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

No. Apples/oranges.

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

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

Skipping both is probably your best bet.

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

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 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.