Technical glitches and a mixed audience reaction greeted U2’s Spiderman, as their new $65m musical got off to a shaky start on in New York Sunday night. The first preview of Spiderman: Turn off the Dark was halted as least five times while problems with the wiring for the show’s spectacular aerial stunts were ironed out. On one occasion, Spiderman was left dangling from the wires above the heads of the audience for several minutes while stage-hands tried to bring him down safely.
Some theatre-goers said the show was “amazing” and “wonderful”, but others told me as they left the theatre, that producers had a lot of work to do if the production was to be a success. Worryingly, many said the problems lay not just in the technical issues, but in the areas of plot cohesion and with the music.
The show, which is the most expensive in Broadway history, opens officially on January 11th at the Foxwoods Theatre, off Times Square. It’s not uncommon for major productions to experience problems during early previews, which are in effect, considered rehearsals, with an audience present. Producers now have six weeks to fix any issues that arise before New York’s tough theatre critics get to give their verdicts. But the early buzz has not been promising.
One critic writing in Monday’s New York Post called it “an epic flop”, saying “not even Spiderman could avert this disaster”. Director Julie Taymor tried to caution the public not to expect a perfect show in advance of Sunday’s debut. In one interview, she expressed the hope that audiences would “enjoy the art of making theatre, as well as the magic of it”. Reports suggested that the cast did not have the opportunity to do a full dress rehearsal in advance of Sunday’s performance.
Many audience members, some of whom had paid $140 for tickets to the preview, were frustrated by constant delays to the proceedings. The show had been due to start at 6.30pm, but was delayed until almost 7.00pm while the 1,900-strong audience took their seats. The performance was interrupted at least four times in Act 1, some momentary, others for between 10-15 minutes, as problems were sorted out. The intermission lasted 45 minutes, meaning it was after 9.00pm before the second Act began.
Rosemary and Tom Long, from eastern Pennsylvania, left the show before the second Act started, in order to catch a bus home. “We couldn’t wait to see it,” said Rosemary, “We come to shows at least once a month on Broadway. It was terrible. It was all delays. They have a lot of work to do get it going. We go to previews a lot and I’ve never seen anything like this.” The couple were given tickets for a show in the future, and plan to return. “It they can work out the kinks, it’s going to be a terrific show”.
Another couple who left the show early said their tickets had been “the worst investment ever”. “I’m really sorry. I wanted it to be a success. I wanted it to be great. But we couldn’t stay one more minute,” said Yeron and Elisa, from Israel. “We like Julie Taymor. I mean, we loved the Lion King. And U2 as well – but even the music is so boring. I hate to be negative... It was just a bitter disappointment”
But most of the audience did stay until the end, leaving the theatre at around 10.15pm, three and three-quarter hours after they had taken their seats. “I thought it was an interesting show,” said Tom Harbinson of Shelby, Conneticut , “I’m a U2 fan and I was looking forward to the music. Some of the songs did stand out, but writing rock music is a lot different than writing theatre music. I think they succeeded on a couple of songs but a couple of them left a little to be desired. Overall, it’s not a show like a pop Wicked-type thing that will take off. It’s the kind of show that will really have to grow on audiences. It’s going to challenge an audience to artistically swallow it.” He said that the delays did not bother him, as he had expected them and had actually been looking for that to be part of his experience.
Jay Starr from Boston agreed: “I thought it was actually really good. The actors were amazing, their voices were really good, on key. There were delays but it was the first show, so it’s really not that big of a deal.” His friend Gerry, a huge Spiderman fan, was not as impressed. “It was alright. But I don’t think there was much of a real plot going on,” he said, “I think they were going for more of a wow factor – which there was with the effects and stuff - but other than that, I was a little bit disappointed.”
Margaret McLoughlin, a tourist from Glasgow, thought it was “absolutely fabulous”. “I mean obviously they had a few teething problems. But the special effects were out of this world. Spiderman just comes flying through the crowds. Great! I’m not a big Spiderman fan, more a U2 fan. The music was a bit weird. Definitely you can hear U2’s influence in some songs more than others".
Patrick McGinnis from New York thinks the show needs a lot of work between now and January. “I really wanted to like it because I like U2 a lot. I think they spent a lot of money but the basic plot elements were lacking cohesion. The aerial stunts were very impressive, actually. Although once you’ve seen it four or five times, it gets less impressive, like everything else. I think the first five times I saw it I was very impressed and then I thought to myself ‘this is great but if it’s going to hold up the entire production, is it really worth it?’
One key demographic seemed to be universal in their praise – children. 12-year old Amanda Felitti, from Long Island, came to the show dressed head-to-toe in a Spiderman costume. “I thought it was really cool,” she said, “I really loved it. The effects were cool - they were flying over each other and attacking each other as they were flying – it was really amazing.”
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