Spiderman Preview Thread!- Page 34

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 6:31pm

Scott -- your comments are nearly as silly as the petitioner's.

What makes you think she will even ever SEE that ridiculous petition? THREE signatures....and then look at the comments next to their names. LOL.

Now, just to spite those silly people, I am TOTALLY hoping they turn it around and make a bajillion bucks....well, after the 4 or 5 years it takes to re-coup.

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 6:37pm

What is it that you find silly about Scott's post, dramamama? Of course Taymor is never going to see the petition, but that doesn't make it any less mean-spirited.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 6:51pm

Actually, I don't think it is mean-spirited. I think the originators BELIEVE they are thinking of the actors/community.

But this is the part I find silly: "Right now, a large company of artists are frantically - and perhaps sleeplessly - working their asses off to try and realize their collective vision. I am absolutely appalled at the cruelty shown Ms. Taymor."

I'm sure they are not frantically OR sleeplessly working their asses off (I'm not saying they aren't hard at work, at all...except we haven't heard much in the way of changes.) Additionally, there are so many other things to be "appalled" at in the world...the words of three nobodies in a petition that will never be seen to Ms. Taymor barely make the grade. CRUELTY? Really? I don't see cruelty anywhere. Stupidity, sure.

[Orangesaretuesdays]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 6:58pm

Bono and The Edge are on a different continent. Yeah they are definitely here trying to fix the show.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 7:00pm

How conveeeeeeeeenient!

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 7:55pm

Saw today's matinee. Not impressed. Sure, the flying is cool, but not enough to save the entire show. The visuals are always appealing. The score is weak, only a handful of nice melodies, and the lyrics are generally weak. The book needs an overhaul. Best performances come from Patrick Page and Jennifer Damiano (who sadly doesn't get enough stage time). America Olivo was very good as the understudy for Arachne. Reeve Carney is a weak actor AND singer.

There were two actual stops today. One in each act. Neither lasted longer than a couple minutes. There may have been other glitches throughout that I did not pick up on.

Pretty disappointing, but worth the $30 rush price.
Updated On: 12/5/10 at 07:55 PM

[PReeves2]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 7:58pm

ljay where did you sit for rush tickets?

[ljay889]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 8:02pm

The rush seats were in rear orchestra, flying circle, flying circle box, and balcony. I think they had 22 or 24 seats. I had rear orchestra.

[Eos]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 8:08pm

I was there tonight. The show ran, like everyone's been saying, right around three hours. There were 2 points where they had to stop, but only for a few minutes each time. Something went wrong with one of the "swingers" near the beginning as well. I'm not sure if I missed anything, but I'm sure I did. She just wasn't able to swing with the others. Hang up with the cable or something, I don't know.

What a theme park - just what I expected to see. Was I moved? Actually, I kind of was just by the spectacle of it. I enjoyed the music more that I thought I would and thought the performances were fine. I thought America Olivo did a nice job with all of the flying and singing she had to do. I wonder about hazard pay...

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 8:32pm

How much did you miss from the rush seats?

[TJ2]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 8:39pm

I was there this afternoon too. My rush seat was the last seat in box C in the flying circle. I was able to see pretty well. There was a light that blocked my view at times and I couldn't see the very right of the stage, but for $30, it was fine.

As far as the show, I am glad I only paid $30! It was worth it to see the flying and some of the scenery, but overall I though the show was really weak.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 8:48pm

I saw the matinee as well. For the record, I had a rear orchestra rush seat- Z30. In terms of what you miss, basically you miss all of the landings in the flying circle and balcony. You can see the entire stage, including the top of it.

As for the show, it's a mess. Act 1 is marginally better than act 2. At least the storyline is coherent in act 1.

The score is very generic, with the only number I really enjoyed being Damiano's act 2 solo (though it's a very depressing song). The rest of it is just blah. The set is quite good, and probably a shoo-in for the Tony. The flying is impressive, but all but disappears in act 2.

Jen Damiano and Patrick Page are both talented performers that are completely wasted in this mess. America Olivo was fine as Arachne, but essentially does nothing but float around and go, "Laaaaaaaaaaalaaaaaaaaa." Reeve Carney didn't display any acting chops, but wasn't given a whole lot of depth (none of them are). However, I wasn't impressed with his voice at all.

The show's biggest problem, ironically, is Julie Taymor's ego. Yes, she's an incredibly creative woman when it comes to staging and design. However, she seems oblivious to the fact that the book and story in act 2 are a complete mess. The infamous shoes number needs to be cut. The act 2 opener feels like a cross between Aida's My Strongest Suit, with what actually amounts to a villain fashion show, but then all of a sudden becomes Stomp when a random guy comes out and starts drumming on a bucket. The Geek Chorus, who I actually didn't mind in act 1, disappears in act 2 for whatever reason (well, the "reason" is that the villains "take over" the show). There are also a number of plot holes in both acts- what happens to the boyfriend Flash? Didn't the Green Goblin die at the end of act 1? And then of course, the ending is the most anti-climactic, dumb (and cheap looking!) thing you could ever see.

I find it interesting that people often complain about the Disney shows being too "theme park." Spiderman makes The Little Mermaid look like Gypsy.

I am glad I only paid $30 to see it- it's worth that to see the flying and the set. I wouldn't spend any more than that however.

Taymor was nervously pacing in the back of the orchestra during the show, and several ran down the side aisle to go backstage, only to return a few minutes later. She appeared stressed. I can't say I blame her. This is a $65 million disaster up on the stage.
Updated On: 12/5/10 at 08:48 PM

[PReeves2]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 9:15pm

ljay, was your view of the flying obstructed at all? looking at getting tickets again and thought of rear orchestra.

[PReeves2]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 9:17pm

nevermind adam's view answers my question

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 9:58pm

My mother sometimes reads these boards and she knows that Spider Man is a giant hot mess.

Now we have an in-joke where she jokingly threatens me that if I don't bring my physics grade up, the next show I'm seeing is Spider Man...lmao.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 10:07pm

If you're no good Santa will leave Spiderman tickets in your stocking kids!

[lakezurich]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 10:18pm

Noooooooo!!! Anything but that!!! I'd rather have a private meet and greet with James Barbour

[Sauja]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 10:19pm

adamgreer, I think one of the plot holes you mention is actually answered (ridiculously) when *spoiler alert" in Arachne's final song she explains that all of the villains, including the Green Goblin as they appeared after vanquished were all just "illusions" that she had created.

As far as Jennifer Damiano's second act ballad, I did think it was the musical highlight of the show, notably because she's the most talented singer allowed to do much actual singing, but the song itself struck me as quite a bore. At first I thought, "well this is the best thing we've heard all night." But then I STILL zoned out. I just felt bad for most of the performers I knew from other shows--her, Isabel Keating, Gideon Glick...such thankless roles for such talented people. Patrick Page, at least, gets to have some silly fun up there.

[quizking101]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 10:37pm

Has anyone here ever speculated about how the original principals (Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming) would have done performance-wise in these roles?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/5/10 at 10:57pm

The role of Mary Jane is pretty much a waste, though there's no way Wood would have been able to sing nearly as well as Damiano (who is wasted, but is clearly the vocal highlight of the show).

The Goblin at least gets to have a little fun, and I could see Cumming being quite good in the role, though he'd take it in a very different direction than Page did, I'm sure.

[Amy3]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 12:04am

We were at the show Saturday night. I spent twice the money on these tickets than the Divine Sister offbroadway show I saw last week, and I thought I got much much more for my money from Spider-man. There was one stop. The audience did not seem to mind. A lot of people are buying tickets to get in. I was more entertained than I was at the three Cirque du Soleil shows I saw, and the story here makes more sense to me than the Cirque du Soleil shows. It was exciting to witness the flying and the visual effects. There were some excellent individual performances. My companion and I had a enjoyable fun night out and a very different experience from watching Westside Story, A Little Night Music, Rock of Ages, Million Dollar Quartet, etc, even if the story is not an eloquent tale, and not every lead is a natural star.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 12:09am

Excellent. The first shill has arrived!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 12:09am

Excellent. The first shill has arrived!

[SNAFU]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 12:16am

Hi Julie! How's previews going there?

[Amy3]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 8:45am

Hey, we are just middle age suburbanites who choose to spend our entertainment dollars on live performance shows. I only came to this site because it was mentioned online by the news sites the night preview started. You and I are probably not in the same target audience groups. I can say that my companion and I had a great time at the show if I want to.