Spiderman Preview Thread! — Page 22

...Karen and Ramona.

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Ok, judging by what I've read I feel that what they should do is drop the Geek Chorus and replace Arachne's introduction with a voice-over by oh I don't know...Stan Lee?! He could also provide narration if needed. All pre-recorded dialogue of course. Just a thought.

You know, at this point I hope they defy the odds, fix this show and make all of these "journalists" and bloggers eat crow for the negative headlines that are appearing. It just seems that the media loves to put negative stuff out there. The coverage is amazing. Where are they for other openings? They are just there for something big that they think is going to fail. The word vultures was mentioned earlier in this thread and that's what they are. Do I consider us vultures? No. We are passionate about the theatre. Yup, some nasty things have been said about it in this thread but we aren't sending it out to the masses. We are discussing it here on BWW. If we were all in a room together, we would be saying the same things. And if it is a bad show, it won't last. But at least give it a chance to officially open. OK, I'm done! JMO

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Updated On: 11/30/10 at 12:06 AM

ditto with uncageg... i hope they do a great job... i would NEVER wish anything failure which apparently most people on here and in the blogosophere love to do

Granted, I haven't seen anything from the show other than the "60 Minutes" trailer, but I'm PUMPED.

I don't work in theater, but have been following this show for a while. And although I guess I don't have the knowledge (sorry 30-years plus annoying guy who KEEPS TALKING FOREVER), I work in film and TV production - not theater.

Everyone I know who I've worked with over the past year on thinks this sounds AWESOME. If anything, something to be experienced. I joined this chat only to say I know dozens of people within the film and TV industry (small population, I know...and not the target audience) who are SO excited.

Also - just to defend myself, I live in NYC and have seen most of the shows you all have compared this to. If Spider-Man looks or sounds anything like "Titanic" or "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown", I'd also be terrifie

I'm sure the first show sucked...I've never been to a preview but have tix for Dec 23rd. I'm still excited and so are my work friends. Bring it on! If the show stops, we'll applaud and chant, "spider-man, Spider-Man, SPIDER-MAN!"

"some nast things have been said about it in this thread but we aren't sending it out to the masses. We are discussing it here on BWW."

Are you serious? You do understand that this is the internet, right? You do know that the internet is accessed all around the globe, right? You do understand that people are reading this that aren't a part of this "we" of which you speak? Just plain casual readers or anyone with the ability to google pulls up this thread and reads it. This not a special select club.

These "vultures" of which you speak are not just "here" because they think or want the show to fail. The vast majority are interested because it is Spiderman, it is a musical about Spiderman, it is a musical written by U2. These "vultures" actually want the show to be good. That's why they and I care.

You'll discover that these "vultures" are usually the same intense theatre queens that want to dish everything to show that they have better taste than the little people. Only Sondheim is good enough for praise.
This is a show, a concept, that people wanted desperately to be good, to be damn good.

(As a side note, I have to admit, that as a spidey fan , I get a huge laugh every time some one brings up up "vulture" since he is one of the Spiderman bad guys.)

People aren't necessarily WISHING for failure. However, they are wishing for a quality show.

I for one would rather see a mediocre or weak show FAIL, then see it succeed. I hate when mediocrity is hailed as greatness simply because of longevity. I hate when medocrity is taken as art simply because it exists. I'd rather elevate the public's perception rather than kowtow to the common. JUST to have a show sell tickets, when a show is lacking substance, is not what I want for broadway.

I think MOST people hear would love to see all the issues with this (and any other show) bandied about addressed and fixed throughout the very long preview period. I know when I see it at Christmas, I'm HOPING for just that to happen. Will it? Only time will tell.

However, since the cast and crew had NEVER run the entire show previous to the first preview IS a telling sign that it WASN'T ready for the public. How much longer should they have waited? I don't know, I'm not there. But four months rehearsal is an exhorbitant amount of time to rehearse any show. It SHOULD have been ready. Remember, it was only two weeks ago that they couldn't even show all the stunts to the inspectors.

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I've never hoped a show would crash and burn but for me Marvel and all the other high tech crap that inundates the movies is a good place to start. I'm so sick of mindless movies that depend on special effects and advertising to draw crowds. And I'd prefer to not have Broadway become another outlet for the dumbing down of America.

Weighing in here, I think it is a shame that previews are no longer discounted. It is the same here (in Australia) and whereas preview tickets were once heavily discounted, they are now close to full price and producers appear to do their best to not make it obvious that the audiences are at a preview. I think producers should discount tickets to all previews and make no bones about it that they are discounted for a reason - that the show is a 'preview' of what the finished product will be and technical hitches are likely.
That said, as it WAS a first preview, I think people need to accept this and not harp on and on about technical faults. I totally agree that the audience should not have paid full price and there should certainly have been compensation for those who bought the tickets if it was once an actual post opening performance date. However as it stands it WAS a preview - end of story.
It has even made the free papers our here which is plain ridiculous. It truly appears to be a case of tall poppy syndrome whereby because so much money has been spent, or some think that the director is an egomaniac, then the show deserves to fail.
I do not think any reviewer should post their opinions on a preview - unless they do so for all previews. It just reinforces personal vendettas and is in a way, bullying imo.
When there were issues with the bus during the Priscilla previews here in Sydney - many audience members were outraged and compained and said that the show would flop. That turned out to be a major success here (mind you, the producers gave away a LOT of return free tickets to those who complained which imo is the correct thing to do). There also wasn't a member of the press with a bee in their bonnet whining about the first preview either.
Mind you, I have no idea how any show could have a budget of $65m.

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As usual...Mama makes an excellent point. Just an interesting note: I work in the medical field, and more 'non theater' people have been asking me about this show than any other. And, they had no idea that Sunday wasn't the opening night, and think all the comments about topping the show etc were the actual reviews .

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Not sure if this is a serious post or a joke.

The Kiss of Spider-Woman and Spider-Man: Making Spider-Babies in the dark

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Updated On: 11/30/10 at 09:47 AM