Former US president Bill Clinton has given U2’s Spiderman musical on Broadway the thumbs up after attending its star-studded gala opening on Tuesday night. But Bono and the Edge, who wrote the music and lyrics for Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, woke up on Wednesday to find once again that newspaper theatre critics were left decidedly unimpressed.
President Clinton and his daughter Chelsea sat alongside Bono at the Foxwoods Theatre off Times Square for the show’s official premiere. Behind them sat the Edge with composer Andrew Lloyd Webber. They were joined in the audience by a who’s-who of Bono’s celebrity friends, including rocker Lou Reed, rapper Jay Z, actors Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson and Steve Martin, supermodels Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen, tennis legend John McEnroe, TV stars Barbara Walters and Jimmy Fallon, and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“What an amazing and historic night on Broadway. New York has never seen anything like Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark,”said Bill Clinton. “And I am very proud of them for not giving up, it was fabulous.” However, most of the critics, who were reviewing the reworked version of the show for the first time since director Julie Taymor was replaced in March, did not agree.
While the reviews have not been as savage as those of the original version published in February, they were still damning in whatever faint praise they gave. Most felt that while the revisions had improved the show, it was now basically a very expensive piece of children’s entertainment.
America’s most influential theatre critic Ben Brantley of the New York Times said the show had gone from “jaw-dropping badness to mere mediocrity.” “This singing comic book is no longer the ungodly, indecipherable mess it was in February. It’s just a bore,” he wrote, adding that he would only recommend it if he knew a “less-than-precocious child of 10 or so, and had several hundred dollars to throw away.”
Peter Mark, writing in the Washington Post, said the show was “a definite upgrade” but “still situated a wide canyon’s distance from good.” Entertainment Weekly’s Thom Geier gave it a C+ rating, saying “It may be an admirable work of revision, but it’s an unsatisfying meal, like one of Mom’s end-of-the-week casseroles made of leftovers she couldn’t bear to toss away.”
The kindest review came from Elysa Gardner writing in USA Today, who said producers had clearly heeded critics and fans, and the new version was “more of an overt crowd pleaser”. It certainly pleased the invited guests at Tuesday night’s opening, where the audience leapt to their feet to give the cast and crew a standing ovation at curtain call. Producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J Harris came out on stage, followed by Bono and the Edge. The new director, Phillip William McKinley then introduced the woman he replaced Julie Taymor.
There was loud applause from the audience and cheers from the cast and crew as Taymor walked on the stage to embrace Bono and the Edge, and the other producers who ousted her just two months ago. Bono took the microphone and paid tribute to her creativity, adding “By the way, you’re looking hot, Julie.” Taymor was gracious despite an ongoing dispute with producers over the payment of royalties, and thanked the cast and crew that she had spent years working with on the show.
Bono, who recently admitted that he would never have become involved in the musical if he knew how much time it would take to get it up and running, said he was proud of the work. “It’s quite a moment for us to finally be able to stand behind this, stand proudly behind it. It is a wonderful, wild ride of a night out,” he said. “We knew that that show had the makings of something great,” added the Edge, “so we felt that if we just pushed very hard and persuaded our producers to go again, we could get there. We feel we have.”
WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE SAID ABOUT SPIDEY 2.O:
The New York Times – Ben Brantley
“(The show) has become a straightforward children’s entertainment with a mildly suspenseful story, two-dimensional characters, unapologetically bad jokes and the kind of melodious rock tunes that those under 12 might be familiar with from listening to their parents’ salad-day favorites of the 1980s and ’90s. The puppet figures and mask-dominated costumes worn by the supporting villains still seem to have wandered in from a theme park.”
The Hollywood Reporter – David Rooney
"When a show is as misconceived as Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, it’s more realistic to expect cosmetic improvements than miracles. That’s exactly what the new creative team has accomplished in this significantly overhauled but still terminally clunky reworking of the troubled mega-musical, now officially open after a record 183 previews."
USA Today – Elisa Gardner
"Essential elements of (Taymor’s) production remain, along with the flying feats and other high-tech visuals. But the new "Spider-Man" is cuter and more cautious than its predecessor ... Clearly, producers heeded the critics and fans who hoped to see the title character represented more as he'd been in comic books and movies,"
New York Post – Elizabeth Vincentelli
“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark”…tries very hard to be fun and accessible. After many upheavals and accidents, firings and rewrites, the show is closer than ever to the bull’s eye, but that’s not saying much: The target has been both broadened and lowered. The point of reference is Joel Schumacher’s family-ready “Batman,” not Christopher Nolan’s dark, arty one.”
Wall Street Journal – Terry Teachout
“If beauty were really only skin deep, then "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" would be the perfect musical. Every cent of the $70 million budget is visible…It's the best-looking mediocre musical ever to open on Broadway.
“The score, by U2's Bono and The Edge, sounds like a double album of B-sides ("Don't think about tomorrow / We've only got today"). Not only are the songs forgettable, but they never succeed in generating any dramatic momentum—all they do is get louder.”
Washington Post – Peter Marks
“What swings from the rafters, springs from the wings and bursts from the stage floor of the Foxwoods Theatre is a definite upgrade from the flailing behemoth on view in February...this effects-driven musical is still situated a wide canyon’s distance from good.”
Entertainment Weekly – Thom Geier
“Bono and The Edge's score is a mostly lackluster collection of forgettable tunes that play like U2 B-side… It may be an admirable work of revision, but it's an unsatisfying meal, like one of mom's end-of-the-week casseroles made of leftovers she couldn't bear to toss…
"A lot of talent and money have gone into Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. But with great promise (and an even greater budget) comes the great responsibility of delivering. Though it's undeniably cool to see costumed heroes zip overhead, this Spidey just can't get off the ground.”
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