REVIEW – SPIDERMAN: TURN OFF THE DARK
Oh dear.
As one of the few people reviewing Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark not to have seen the original version of the $75m musical, I thought I might be in a position to go a bit lighter on it than most critics.
Most reviews, which have compared the Julie Taymor version with the reworked Phillip McKinley one, say things have improved, albeit not by enough.
So I thought, by being able to focus strictly on the new version, I could be fairer to the much-maligned show.
In other words, I went to Foxwoods Theatre on Thursday night with an open mind, and actually in a mood to be generous.
And by the end of a beautifully-worked opening scene, my heart was lifted.
“Behold and Wonder” sung with haunting vocals from TV Carpio as the mythological spider-god Arachne, and sumptuous staging where cast members swinging from hanging drapes weave a dramatic pattern that covers the stage, was a joy.
But unfortunately, the insult to intelligence that unfolded over the next hour or so, meant that by the interval, it was almost forgotten.
Where to start?
The weak script? The all-too-obvious plot development? The one-and-a-half dimensional characters?
An early number, “Bullying by Numbers”, where Peter Parker’s geek credentials are established - is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard on a Broadway stage.
The scene where Peter Parker gets bitten by the venomous spider – one you would think is so crucial to the plot that it would demand special attention – is completely lame and over in the blink of an eye.
Likewise, in what should be an exciting moment as Peter begins to discover his new powers – a nicely imagined staging is let down by a sub-par song “Bouncing off the Walls”.
And the less said about the scene where Peter takes part in a boxing match against an inflatable muscle-man the better.
The only saving grace for Act 1 is that it contains the standout song from the entire show.
“Rise Above” is a soaring ballad sung with gusto by Reeve Carney in the title role, and TV Carpio as Arachne, and is the only number from Spiderman that you could imagine making the cut on a proper U2 album.
After 45 minutes, when the first of the much-vaunted flying sequences takes place, it’s actually not as exciting as it could be, had any momentum or tension been built up through earlier scenes.
Act 2 is actually much better – but it’s hard to tell whether or not that’s the result of expectations dropping so low by that point.
There are still huge problems.
Some of the villains Spiderman is forced to take-on look remarkably cheap for a production that has spent $75m.
One brings to mind the Mexican Bumble Bee character from the Simpsons.
Another is a ringer for the toy dinosaur in Toy Story.
But at least Act 2 proceeds at pace, and the more regular flying sequences distract from the continuing weaknesses of the plot.
There are two beautiful moments – first Mary Jane’s love song “If the World Should End”, sung with tenderness by Jennifer Damiano, a talented actress who could do so much more given the right material.
And another fantastic Arachne (TV Carpio) song, “Turn off the Dark”, which includes a flying sequence, that is gentler and more effective than most of Spidey’s jaunts across the theatre.
When the final confrontation takes place between Spiderman and the Green Goblin, it is staged thrillingly, with a fantastic replica of the Chrysler Building on stage, and high-paced acrobatics above the audience’s head.
So at least the whole enterprise ends on a high note.
But it’s not enough to erase the memory of all that went before.
For the most part, the cast emerge relatively unscathed from the mess, and it’s to their credit.
Reeve Carney, as Peter Parker/Spiderman, is handsome and winning, with a very good voice, Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane sings beautifully, and Peter Page hams it up as the Green Goblin to crowd-pleasing effect.
But they are all struggling with music and lyrics by Bono and the Edge that are not only forgettable, but seriously below standard in places.
Whatever revisions have been made to the script and plot have either been too little or too much – because it’s just a colour-by-numbers telling of the familiar Spiderman story.
And intriguingly, the best performance of all comes from TV Carpio as Arachne, whose every scene is far more interesting than what came before or after.
The character was a central part of Julie Taymor’s vision, but has been significantly reduced in the new more
mainstream version, which is a real pity, because I would have liked to see more of her.
The set design is deliberately cartoonish, reminding audiences at every opportunity that the source material is a comic book.
Sometimes it works well, at others it doesn’t.
The costumes are similarly purposefully garish.
The flying sequences are certainly enjoyable, but the harnesses and wires are so visible, they contain little magic.
And Spiderman flies, for the most part, wearing his mask, which makes it difficult for the audience to connect with him for those scenes.
For all the talk of the new version being more fun than the original, I can only recall one scene (involving the Green Goblin making a phone call) where I actually laughed out loud.
Bizarrely, music from U2’s back catalogue appears briefly on a number of occasions, serving no obvious purpose, other than to remind you of Bono and the Edge’s involvement.
If I was them, it’s not something I’d be shouting about.
** (2 out of 5 stars)
- Vincent Murphy
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