...and now comes Batman Live

[tazber]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 8:07am

It’s a play of sorts, but it’s going to be performed in Britain’s biggest, grandest arenas rather than theatres. There will be acrobatics, pyrotechnics, stuntmen, supervillains and screeching Batmobiles on a 100ft-wide, 60ft-deep performance area. Behind them, a giant video wall will flash panels from comic strips and special effects, and give the appearance of interacting with the live performers on stage.

It seems set to be a spectacle unlike any that have gone before, but it’s not entirely dissimilar to one that’s about to open, albeit on the other side of the Atlantic. The much-delayed, $65million Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark has been keeping New York’s gossip columns busy for months with tales of safety inspections and high-wire acts gone seriously wrong. To succeed and recoup its initial investment and $1million a week running costs, it will have to be the city’s biggest draw for years to come.






More here

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 9:58am

I seem to remember another arena spectacle in England a few years ago. Was it Ben Hur? Something like that. The arena shows have been around a while. There is a Peter Pan arena show that is touring the US that looks pretty interesting.
J M Barrie's Peter Pan

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 11:18am

Well, and back before Dance of the Vampires flopped here, Steinman was writing a musical version of Batman for Warner Brothers. Several of the songs wound up on Bat Out of Hell III.

[TheatreDork3]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 12:30pm

Hmmm maybe Spiderman can work as a stadium show in the future. We know it won't be able to tour in traditional theaters. Maybe there's hope!!!

[Calvin]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 12:38pm

I hope the Clock King and Marsha, Queen of Diamonds are in it!

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 12:51pm

Now, THIS looks good. And very true to the intention of the comic book and films (the better ones) it seems. The website www.batmanlive.com has a lot of stuff on it.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 3:18pm

"Hmmm maybe Spiderman can work as a stadium show in the future."

There has been a lot of talk in the industry that that is what the future plans are for Spiderman, as well as a possible sit down in Vegas (possibly even in a custom built theatre). I will add the disclaimer that I have heard this all second (or third or maybe even fourth) hand, but it would not be an illogical step for the show's post-Broadway life.

[TheKandyLife]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 7:26pm

I actually have tickets to this, well i think it's the same thing, at Glasgows SECC. The set design is nothing like what i expected, but looking forward to it more now!

[Overkill]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 9:04pm

This looks GREAT! I can't wait to see it! It's going to be a million times better than that dreadful Batman musical ever would have been!

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 1/4/11 at 9:49pm

AEA AGMA SM, I heard the same exact stuff, and even a bit more!

[Sylar2]

Posted: 1/6/11 at 11:23pm

Rumor is this will hit the states in 2012 and I've heard its pretty amazing... based more on the classic DC Batman than the recent film versions.

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/6/11 at 11:46pm

Which Batman is the classic DC Batman? There's been...

The old-school Batman, who hated the Chinese and was unafraid to kill with a handgun...

The campy Fifties-and-Sixties Batman, with his silly plot twists, winking gay undertones and ridiculous costumes...

The gritty, serious Batman of the Seventies and Eighties...

The animated-series Batman, often considered to be canonically the "official" standard Batman, a man walking the line between hero and vigilante, tormented by his moral center...

The growling Christian Bale reboot Batman...

And dozens more.

[Moneyspider]

Posted: 1/7/11 at 12:02pm

I can't imagine them veering too far from the 90s cartoon style. It's simpler and less excessive in terms of a wide "family" audience. I can't imagine we'd see the dead/got better Robin who comic readers voted to kill off in the mid80s, the short-lived female Robin who's now Batgirl (the original is paralyzed) or the current Robin who is the son of Batman and just starting to shed his training as an assassin. There's also a Batwoman who was kicked out of the military because of DADT.

[darquegk]

Posted: 1/7/11 at 12:08pm

I certainly HOPE they're basing it off the 90s animated-series Batman and the "Diniverse" continuity it contained. That one has always been a fan favorite, and, like I mentioned, is often cited by DC itself as their canonically ideal Batman continuity.

Not that there wasn't considerable envelope pushing- this show, though fine for a family audience, was much beloved for adults, and was the first Batman installment to portray characters Clayface, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn as canonically homosexual or bisexual in nature. The only oddity in that is that they then shied away from the more commonly used theory that the Joker himself is gay. Plus, the show did not flinch away from showing the reality (so to speak) of Gotham, alluding freely and openly to organized crime, murder and the evils of drug trafficking and prostitution rings (although I believe the prostitution rings were simply referred to as "white slavery" cartels).

[Moneyspider]

Posted: 1/7/11 at 8:47pm

I would say the Diniverse works the same way film noir did under the Hays Code- subtle use of mature and controversial themes. The comics are prone to wallowing in death and dismemberment to the point where it can become silly.