Spiderman Preview Thread!- Page 40

[Orangesaretuesdays]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 2:37pm

Well I guess IBDB took it down then

[rougeduck]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 2:48pm

But Deeply Furious was at least campy and gay. Bullying by numbers was just a weird set up (what was this game they were reffering to?), incoherent babbles, and....well...what the hell does bullying by numbers mean and why do they say it like ghosts?

[sondhead]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 3:37pm

Is the exit line after Bullying By Numbers still "come on guys, lets go get tacos?" Because.. I don't know if I was supposed to laugh at that, but I.. umm.. did. A lot.

[leefowler]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 3:47pm

All of the high school scenes reminded me of "Footloose"

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 4:37pm

I kind of love "Bullying By Numbers". I can't wait to hear the harmonies butchered someday in the bad high school productions thread.

[Love4Theatre]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 4:56pm

It's funny how TheatreDork mentions STOTD as a universal theme park show. I remember watching a Spiderman Musical a few years back at Universal Studios Hollywood. They had an aerial battle above the audience between spiderman and the green goblin. The show was called SPIDERMAN ROCKS. It was BAD. But, I enjoyed it.
Updated On: 12/9/10 at 04:56 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 8:52pm

Sondhead -- you are confusing 'doubles' with ALTERNATES. Reeves will only be performing the role 6 times a week. A different actor will be picking up the other two performance. The references to WHY he would need an alternate is wondering why he can't handle 8 shows a week -- not why there are stunt doubles during an individual performance.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 9:51pm

Ticketmaster is showing that the evening performance on the 14th is canceled. I know that some matinees have been canceled for a while now, but I think this random cancellation of an evening show is a new development.

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 10:08pm

>> "So what you're saying, TheatreDork4, is that people shouldn't walk into Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark and expect the most soul-stirring, intellect-challenging show ever created in the history of the world?"

I believe even Ms. Taymor herself was telling us how we should expect depth and mystery and soul.

[jagfkb]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 11:14pm

My few suggestions:

*The Geek Chorus is at heart a great idea, and a lot of the right mateiral for them is already there. The problem is some of their dialogue not only is repetetive and monotonous (really, the girl needs to be constantly given the cold shoulder, and the guys are really that stupid?), but it insults comic book nerds everywhere. My suggestion: Make them logical, intelligent beings and rewrite some of the dialogue to make them less charictatures and more human. After all, isn't that the purpose of the Chorus? Oh, and include them at the end. It's called a framing device for a reason, Julie. Plus it would certainly give that little added push for the ending to truly work (though i would love at least a reprise of something, performed by the Geek chorus).

*Bouncing off of the geek chorus dialogue problems, make the kids sound ever slightly more intelligent that they're currently portrayed. I know Comic books aren't exactly shakespeare, but they have better lines than "Lets go get some tacos..." And another thing, Bullying By Numbers could easily be cut, simply insert some type of styalized sequence which encompasses all of the needed narrative points. It can work... really well...

*Just eliminate the Bone Crusher sequence... the money is never really used for anything afterwards, so why not just segue from Peter's triumph at school to the tragedy of Uncle Ben? OR, show the match through the use of the LCD screens which for some reason only seem to exist in Act Two... and then place the scene from the movie with Uncle Ben's car being stolen...Either way is better than a blowup doll, though I'll admit I do enjoy the idea of the Geek chorus being the one single handely cheering him on whilst presenting him with his foe. Whether this iriony is intentional or a mistake, who the hell knows...

*To go back, do we need to know Mary Jane is abused by her father, and if so, can we learn it in a way other than seeing her being actually beaten by her father? Can she come in bruised for the field trip or something? That gives us an excellent reason not only to cut a very long song in half, but also give Uncle Ben and Peter's relationship time to flourish a little.

*I will say Arachnae's character may be the single most interesting thing in the show. Only suggestion: cut the ****ing shoes number. Here's why: 1- It's cool costuming, but it destroys her character to be obsessed for 5 minutes about a newspaper not publishing anything about spiderman. we know she's a bitch, but she's not petty. if anything, cut the number, but cut to the bugle, where the machine suddenly starts printing the headline. after all, isn't arachnae magical or something?

My suggestions, and nothing more. Who could fix these problems (as well as truly make a great Spiderman Musical)? Brian Yorkey and Winnie Holzman on Book and Tom Kitt on Score... done...

But really, the show is lovely... it's really close imo...

[steven22]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 11:27pm

jagfkb,


Never thought about Brian Yorkey and Winnie Holzman on Book and Tom Kitt on Score. That would fix this show. However, it's now too late.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/9/10 at 11:57pm

Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey wouldn't touch this show with a ten foot pole.

[fingerlakessinger]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 12:26am

God imagine what a great this show would have been with Brian, Winnie and Tim working on it.
Not knocking the current creative team...their um...trying.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 12:31am

Queen Julie won't allow anyone but yes men and women near the show, lest they interfere with her "vision."

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 12:41am

on the subject of IBDB, I noticed that for some inconceivable reason Luther Creek is the understudy for Uncle Ben and Mary Jane's Father.

I could see him understudying Peter, but not Uncle Ben

[adamgreer]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 12:44am

^That's what is listed in the Playbill, too. If it's a mistake, than it's a mistake in the Playbill as well.
Updated On: 12/10/10 at 12:44 AM

[steven22]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 1:42am

Luther Creek can't very young. He was in Rent for a number of years starting in the late 90s until before it closed (when Caplan briefly took over Gordon, etc.). He might be old enough to be father u/s in Spidey.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 2:54am

The facial hair in his headshot makes him look a lot older. What seems like more of a mistake is to see that headshot and then read that he's playing a high school student.

[After Eight]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 6:07am

"Surprised to see you pick out "Bullying By Numbers" as the worst number, though. I mean...it's terrible. But what about "Deeply Furious?" Cause that one...I literally don't have words."


I thought that "Pull the Trigger," with those marching generals, was worse than both, and ghastly beyond belief.

From recent posts, it looks like both the Geek Chorus and Arachne are here to stay, and that's too bad.

[ElphaWoods]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 7:36am

[ElphaWoods]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 7:36am

I@m going to see spiderman on january and i was wondering which ones were good seats to get?? (that are not the most expensive ones pls!! :)

If someone that already went could give me an idea about this it would be great! Thanks!!

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 7:41am

From "The NY Times" review of Taymor's THE TEMPEST:

"As Miranda, Felicity Jones is both the sweet, unworldly apple of Prospera’s eye and a younger, softer version of her ardent, intelligent mother. Ms. Jones utters Miranda’s flights of love poetry with marvelous feeling and conviction, which unfortunately only emphasizes the inadequacy of Reeve Carney, the skinny mumbler cast as Ferdinand, the object of Miranda’s devotion."

ouch lol

[actorgaedu]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 8:56am

Not to mention that Tom Kitt is currently in Atlanta with Lin-Manuel Miranda working on "Bring it On."

[manhattanite]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 9:26am

Well I went to see the preview last night and I walked away with a lot of mixed emotion. As a member of the theatre community, unlike some of the haters on this thread I don't wish anyone in this production any ill-will and I would like to see the production succeed for their sake. However, the show needs a lot of work. Luckily they have awhile till opening and I'm sure they are making changes.

Potential spoilers below...there was a lot I liked in the first act. The overall "comic book" aesthetic to the design was really amazing and unlike anything I've seen on stage before. I also enjoyed a good deal of the music especially in ACT I, particularly Bullying By Numbers, Pull the Trigger, and No More. And of course it goes without saying that the aerial work is completely thrilling. I think the audience was mostly on board with the show at intermission, but then Act II takes a bit of a nosedive. The narrative gets muddy and confusing, the first two songs in are musically uninteresting...also the Arachne subplot, which takes over in Act II, is the element of the show that currently needs the most help. There is one number in particular that is so bad that it verges on embarrassing. I wasn't sure if the tone they were aiming for is campy or serious/scary. The ending as it stands currently is also completely limp but I'm sure it's no secret to the creative team as they continue to retool. The major bright spot in Act II is a beautiful solo number sung by Mary Jane called "if The world should end." I have a feeling that one will end up making the rounds as a pop/rock audition song in short order.

All in all, there's work to be done. But a lot is accomplished here. My companion who went to the show with me said the first act was worth the price of the ticket alone even though we were both feeling pretty underwhelmed once the show came down.

[TheatreDork3]

Posted: 12/10/10 at 10:27am

ElphaWoods:

I highly recommend sitting in the center part of the Flying Circle. It's probably the best seat in the house because you can see all of the aerial stunts and you can see everything happening on the stage. It's also the spot where the creative team sits to watch the show, so it's clearly what they perceive as the best vantage point to take it all in.

TD