US CRITICS BRAND U2'S SPIDERMAN MUSICAL 'A STINKER' AND 'ONE OF THE WORST EVER'

The major US theater critics have finally had their say on U2’s Spiderman musical on Broadway – and they’ve branded it an absolute stinker.

Several leading publications including the New York Times, Variety, and the LA Times have broken with Broadway convention by publishing reviews while the show is still in previews. The official opening of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark does not take place until March 15^th. But on the basis that the $65m production has been in previews since November, and has been taking more than $1m in box office receipts every week, the critics said they believed they were entitled to have their say. Monday was the opening night scheduled before the musical’s latest postponement, and critics from several outfits timed their reviews to coincide with that date.

“Spiderman is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway, it may also rank among the worst,” writes Ben Brantley in the New York Times. “I’m not kidding. The sheer ineptitude of this show, inspired by the Spiderman comic books, loses its shock value early. After 15 or 20 minutes, the central question you keep asking yourself is likely to change from “How can $65 million look so cheap?” to “How long before I’m out of here?” 

The paper even criticizes the much-vaunted flying aerial stunts, and calls the show beyond repair. The music, written by Bono and the Edge, does not escape the drubbing either, and is compared to “a persistent headache”. “(The songs) are rarely allowed to take full, attention-capturing form. Mostly they blur into a sustained electronic twang of varying volume, increasing and decreasing in intensity, like a persistent headache,” writes Brantley.

The Los Angeles Times calls it “incoherent and no fun”.  Critic Charles McNulty said the battle over healthcare reform in the US had a better chance of being resolved than the problems in the show.

Peter Marks in the Washington Post said the musical belonged in “the dankest sub-basement of the American Musical Theater”. He says that it’s apparent after “170 spirit-snuffing minutes”, that director Julie Taymor had forgotten about three things: “1 A Coherent plot, 2 Tolerable music 3. Workable sets”.

Steve Suskin in Variety said “weaknesses lie with the book, music and lyrics, a kiss of death for most musicals; Taymor and her team seem to think this is a minor flaw, and initial box office returns suggest they might be right.”

The show has been a runaway success since previews began in November. Thousands of theatre-goers have packed the Foxwoods Theater off Times Square every night, some paying up to $275 for an orchestra seat. It’s twice overtaken Wicked as the number one box office draw on Broadway. The show has become the hottest ticket in town, thanks to the hype surrounding its regular postponements, major technical issues and serious injuries to the actors concerned.

It remains to be seen if the overwhelmingly negative critical mauling which the musical has received this week will influence ticket sales. Investors need the musical to be a sell-out for five full years if they are to recoup the money that it cost to stage. Producers are still making changes to the show, and they are furious that critics have reviewed Spider-man before it is “frozen”, saying it is not in the spirit of Broadway and all it represents. Critics say they will return to review the show when the changes are finalized – but that the theatergoing public is entitled to an independent of review of a show that is raking in millions of dollars each week.