Spiderman Preview Thread!- Page 35

[Baileyboo]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 9:00am

Hey Snaf- I thought I was Julie....

Show is improving, by the way. Still a long way to go, however.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 10:39am

"Hey, we are just middle age suburbanites who choose to spend our entertainment dollars on live performance shows."

LOL. I imagine the voice of Sarah Palin saying those words.

[helloworld2]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 11:14am

This person seemed to enjoy it too, so maybe it is improving?: http://www.showbiz411.com/2010/12/06/spider-man-on-broadway-a-week-later-show-takes-flying-leap-forward

ETA: It also says that they're working on a new ending. I haven't seen it yet, but that sounds like good news based on what everyone is saying.
Updated On: 12/6/10 at 11:14 AM

[Baileyboo]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 11:32am

It has(d)? one of the most non-endings I've ever seen. The audience didn't even realize it was over.

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 12:35pm

Today is Monday, Dec 6th. aka- Spider-Man grosses day.

My question is, do people predict it grossed over 1 million last week? After all, the first preview grossed $200,000, but then again, there were only 5 performances this week, and all of them would have had substancial discounts, which the 1st preview may have had less of. I for one witnessed several people buying premium tickets day-of on the 28th, but I can't imagine with all the bad press afterwards, anyone else would have paid premium after 1st Preview.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 12:45pm

It's not salvageable unless they completely rewrite act 2 to make it somewhat coherent.
Updated On: 12/6/10 at 12:45 PM

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 2:25pm

Before I saw - and loved - Memphis, I read the comments here. If I was to take this board seriously, I would have never have went to see the show. Why are so many people here so negative. The show has almost 6 weeks of previews, more than many musicals have to completely mount themselves.

You go Ms. Taymor. Can't wait to see Spider-man!

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 2:37pm

I don't think you can equate this with Memphis.

[newintown]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 2:41pm

"Why are so many people here so negative.(sic)"

Discriminating taste? Sophisticated aesthetics? Cosmopolitan outlook?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 2:49pm

No, I don't think that's it.

[FrontRowCenter2]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 2:50pm

Friend of mine went a few days ago, overheard someone behind him say during the middle of the 2nd act, "I'm so f*king lost right now" and the entire section around him broke up laughing. Just saying! Still excited about seeing it in 2 weeks.

[mybigsplash]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 2:52pm

Spider-Man makes Memphis look like Angels in America. ...By that I mean, a Pulitzer Worthy Masterpiece.

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 3:00pm

...I wonder when this new finale is being installed. I'm seeing it on the 23rd.
How will I know what's changed? What is the finale as it stands right now?

A little note: I saw Shrek in it's first preview. They had a completely different finale when I saw it, and I did not realize that it had changed until I got the Cast Recording. And I liked the new one SO much better.
Here's hoping Bono and the Edge can pull it together like the Shrek crew. Speaking of which..... how are they tweaking the score from so far away?

[shrekster224]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 3:08pm

Coming from someone who hasn't seen the show, but has been reading some of this board, I can only say, I wanted this show to be good. It had everything in line to be a fun, creative, show, but somewhere along the line, laziness came into play and we have an okay first act with a bad second act. Hopefully they will figure out all of the problems, but I'll probably wait to see it until after opening, and only pay student price. I really want this to turn out to be a good show, though!

[Scott Briefer]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 3:30pm

I am not a part of the Spider-man company, but I don't think laziness has anything to do with its issues. I think the writers needed to see how it played and now that they do, they can make the necessary adjustments. I am sure Ms. Taymor is very aware that the second act isn't making much sense right now. I'm sure she's very busy working on the necessary rewrites.

I don't know how Bono and The Edge fall into this process as they are away, but I think the idea of using existing U2 songs where necessary may be the perfect solution.

[Disneyland Magic Man]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 3:50pm

"the idea of using existing U2 songs where necessary may be the perfect solution."

Actually, I think the cast should all just drop trou and take a big giant **** on the stage.

It'd be just as effective at this point.

Spiderman's being billed as a new musical. Putting existing songs in it makes it a jukebox show. Cop-out.

And don't bring up American Idiot. The album was conceived as a punk opera from the beginning, with the intent of a movie musical produced by MTV.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:02pm

I think the writers needed to see how it played and now that they do, they can make the necessary adjustments.

Funny you mention that, as the guys who wrote the score are on another continent at the moment and not doing a thing for the show. This probably thrills Queen Julie, because there's no one still around with the balls to stand up to her. She's calling all the shots here, and her ego won't allow her to realize what a mess the second act of the show is, so much so that it must be completely rewritten.

Spider-Man makes Memphis look like Angels in America. ...By that I mean, a Pulitzer Worthy Masterpiece.

I was going to say the same thing, but I was going to insert Gypsy where you had Angels in America.

As I was leaving on Sunday, I turned to my friend and said, "The second act was a disaster! It made no sense." The three people in front of us immediately turned around, laughed, and said, "You got that right."
Updated On: 12/6/10 at 04:02 PM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:06pm

Being on another continent doesn't inhibit anyone from composing or tweaking songs during previews, especially with today's communication technology.

[Baileyboo]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:10pm

And they are.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:17pm

You're so in the know, JulieBoo!

[jdtp12]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:18pm

$919,457 in grosses. I'd say that's not too bad for five shows. Even though that means there is no profit.

[crewdude]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:20pm

Did no one else read the story in the times from Nov 23 before the first preview?

“Take the ending of the show,” Ms. Taymor explained. “We’re going for what will be an intimate moment, but also one that will reflect some of the technical spectacle, and we will need to figure out how to stage that.”

Bono murmured, “Figure out how to stage that?” He barked out a series of coughs for comic effect: “Nine days!” He coughed. “First preview!” Cough. “Nine days!”

Ms. Taymor said: “Oh, nice of you to say, Bono, you’re out of here in Australia, and we’ll be here strapped with this thing. I’m just gonna drink my martini, man.”

Of course she dropped the intended ending of the show. She did what was quicker and faster until this "visionary" director was given a "vision" on how to stage it . A "vision" that she apparently couldn't have in the YEARS and years of planning, nor during the months and months of rescheduling this $65 million "visionary" project. Have another martini Julie. It'll make all the investors feel much more at ease with the waste of money spent on "developing" your "vision".

[leefowler]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:35pm

jdtp12, that's a good point. Does anyone here know when they go to an 8 show a week schedule? Because until then, they will be in the strange position of being one of the top earners on Broadway, and yet they'll still not earn back their weekly expenses.

The figure that's often quoted is that it costs the show a million a week to run, but I'm sure it'll cost much more than that through their preview period.

[sundaymorning6am]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:55pm

according to my math skills, if they had 8 entire performances, they'd have made $1,471,131.20. Not bad. We'll see though!

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 12/6/10 at 4:56pm

Yea...for them to be in previews the running cost has to be well over $1 million.
It's gonna be a huge seller for a while...but if they keep it the way it is in terms of book and score...the novelity is gonna ware off quick