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.

Gabriel Byrne on the Irish elections and the power of art

The Irish are justifiably angry, Hollywood star Gabriel Byrne tells Vincent Murphy, but they’ll still probably elect the Usual Suspects.

“I’m not an economist but I think it’s pretty clear what happened,” Gabriel Byrne says, “The country was Madoff-ed.”

“And I think we have a natural desire for retribution.”

The Irish actor plays television’s most famous psychiatrist on HBO’s In Treatment and right now what he’s prescribing for his home country is justice.

“I think when Madoff was put in jail here, a lot of people felt there was some kind of retribution, some kind of closure,” he says.

“That doesn’t seem to be happening over there.”

It’s now over two years since the Irish government gave a blanket guarantee to the debts and liabilities of Irish banks, and details started to emerge of suspicious financial transactions at Anglo Irish Bank.

In the intervening years, bankers like Sean Fitzpatrick and David Drumm have become social pariahs in their home country, but no-one has been prosecuted.

The Garda Fraud Bureau and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement have been investigating alleged wrongdoings at Anglo and other banks.

But no-one has yet ended up behind bars.

And unlike most other countries who have been suffering the effects of the global recession, there has not been an election until now.

Since the crisis began, Barack Obama has been elected US president and his party has suffered a ‘shellacking’ in the Mid-Terms.

In the UK, the government of Gordon Brown has been turfed-out of office to be replaced by a coalition of David Cameron’s Conservative Party and Nick Clegg’s Liberals.

But in Ireland, Brian Cowen and his government have continued in office.

There’s a real hope that if the upcoming election offers nothing else, it will offer an opportunity to draw a line in the sand – to look forward, instead of constantly looking back and pointing the finger of blame.

Byrne says he’s noticed that Irish people now seem to carry a strange guilt about the Celtic Tiger.

“I hear sometimes when I’m talking to people ‘Oh we shouldn’t have done that’ and a certain amount of shame in it,” he says.

But he says the truth is, not everybody got carried away. Not everyone partied.

“I don’t think everybody had a great time during the Celtic Tiger. I think it’s perceived that the entire country went crazy and everybody overspent.”

The election has led to loud calls for political reform in Ireland, with talk of “Reclaiming the Republic” and so forth.

“Funnily enough, they are saying the same things here,” says Byrne, “there are politicians who are saying ‘Let’s take America back’.

“But back from what, to what…I don’t know.”

Byrne sees echoes of the mood which spawned the Tea Party in the US in the Irish situation.

“There is a certain amount of anger, real anger, on the ground with the system here in the US that may or may not translate into action.

“But I think the Mid-Terms proved that Americans had a voice. And they sent the Democrats a harsh lesson.”

In Ireland, he sees a similar desire among ordinary people to let their political masters know that they are angry, and that they are too disconnected from the people.

But Byrne remains unconvinced that real change will happen.

“The truth is, from my point of view, what can actually happen? A coalition of the parties that are there already without real political reform, really fundamental political reform, I don’t know that that’s going to change anything.”

“How does one harness the legitimate anger that’s on the ground and use it to reclaim politics, to reclaim the system of government?

“Classically that’s a time when an alternative radical party could come into power, either from the right or from the left.

“And a radical shift to the right or the left in Ireland is something that I still wouldn’t rule out, but I think that unless there is a real profound change in the political system, like in Washington, then it’s just going to be more of the same.”

He smiles at me, “Is that too pessimistic a view?”

We’re not even here to talk about politics.

We’re here to talk about art.

Byrne is Ireland’s Cultural Ambassador and in that role he’s been spearheading the promotion of a year-long festival of Irish arts in the United States called “Imagine Ireland”.

It’s the biggest ever tour of Irish music, theatre, visual arts and dance in the US, taking in 40 states.

The Irish government has justified the $5m cost of the tour – saying it will open new cultural links, promote Ireland as a tourist destination and cast Ireland in a positive light at a time when we are in international headlines for all the wrong reasons.

But Byrne is unhappy at the spin being put on it.

“Economically we will recover,” he says, “But artistically we have never been set back.”

“Economically, Ireland has gotten a lot of bad press here obviously.

“But this isn’t about ‘oh now let’s tell the good news’. Irish culture consistently has always been evolving, and it will continue to do that through good times and bad.

“It’s been the story of our history, how our artists have turned great sorrows and great tribulations into amazing art.”

He knows too well that the general public may baulk at seeing millions being spent on art at a time when money is scarce.

“In and of itself, it is not going to put bread on the table, nor will it stop immigration.

“But perhaps artists can lead the way, and lead the way for politicians to reexamine the nature of the society we inhabit.

“Because art will transform a society as fast as a politician, in a more profound way I deeply believe.”

Byrne speaks of the potential of art, particularly in a recession, to offer hope and inspiration with a deep passion.

“I’m very interested in getting the message of art, and community art, across to young people, and how powerful the presence of art can be in your life, how it can break down barriers, social barriers, and can free the imagination.

“Introducing that concept into the lives of young people is one of the goals that I have.”

He says at a local level, a drama society can offer somewhere to escape the prevailing mood of depression and negativity, and offer something, for want of a better word, happy.

“I’m a huge supporter of the Irish Amateur Drama group, you know, because that combines social and artistic functions that only another organization say like the GAA can fulfill.”

“In these times especially it’s really important the people have unfettered access at least to the world of the imagination.

“Because the world of the imagination can show us ways to deal perhaps with the economic crisis we are currently going through.

“I’m not saying it’s the answer, but I’m saying it at least provides perspective”

[This article appears in this week's issue of the Irish Examiner USA]

Borkman at BAM: Ireland's Abbey Theatre on centenary tour to US

Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman by the Abbey

When the Abbey Theatre first came to New York in November 1911, there were riots.

The tour included, among other works, J M Synge’s Playboy of the Western World, which had stirred controversy when it debuted in Dublin just a few years earlier. It was about to do the same here.

Protests were organized by Irish-American Catholic organizations, which resulted in eggs being pelted at the stage and even arrests. But Lady Gregory, one of the Abbey’s founders, had a plan. She was in the audience on the first night, and she got in touch with her good friend Theodore Roosevelt, the former President of the US, and implored him to come see the show.

Teddy Roosevelt

“And Teddy Roosevelt did come the second night,” explains Fiach MacConghaile, current director of the Abbey, “He was applauded on the way in.” The audience was much better behaved on the second night, and at the end of the performance the former president took to the stage. “He exalted and commended the Abbey for bringing Playboy of the Western World to America,” says MacConghaile.  

The controversy translated into full houses for the Abbey on their tour, which lasted six months and included 20 different plays. It counted among them works by WB Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, J.M Synge and others. As well as New York, the Abbey performed in Boston and Philadelphia and other centers like Scranton, Champagne, Illinois and Albany.

The tour was a success and helped foster an international reputation for Ireland’s fledging national theater. “It was an extraordinary moment in the history of the Abbey,” says MacConghaile, who explains that the Abbey was motivated to come to the US because it was running out of money. Annie Horniman, one of its founding patrons, withdrew her money after six years of support.

 “The Abbey had to look to America to survive because it had no funding from the State (state funding did not arrive until the 1920s),” says MacConghaile, “So it built a relationship with the diaspora and also with cities around America. To this day I can go to almost any city in the US, and when I mention the Abbey Theatre, they know it. It’s now part of the historical fabric of the relationship between Ireland and the US.”

One hundred years on, the Abbey is touring the US once more.

Lindsay Duncan

Its production of Ibsen’s John Gabriel Borkman, a new version by Frank McGuinness is currently playing at BAM Harvey Theatre in Brooklyn. The family drama, which revolves around a morally corrupt banker, stars three of the theatre world’s shining lights Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw and Lindsay Duncan. “It was well received in Dublin,” says Lindsay Duncan, who says it’s thrilling to be working with the Abbey for the first time. “It’s always exciting to take a production that has had a short run somewhere new. Hopefully, it’s grown. It’s not a particularly well-known Ibsen and perhaps even less well known here in the States.”

She acknowledges that having a jailed banker at the center of the plot is an interesting hook for an audience. “I don’t think it’s the main thing about it, but certainly because it’s about a banker who has behaved unwisely, it should have resonances here, as it did in Ireland. But of course its themes are much more universal than that, it’s about the human condition, and people and relationships.”

Bernie Madoff echoes

Executive producer at BAM, Joe Melillo says he was shocked when he saw the play in Dublin last year. “That doesn’t sound reasonable. But it was shocking to me that this play was calling on many of the implications of the Bernie Madoff scandal here,” he said. “It will absolutely compel New York audiences. They too will have a similar confrontation saying ‘oh my god, this play was written over 100 years ago?!”

BAM Harvey Theater

The play runs at BAM until February 6^th and it cements the close ties between the world famous Brooklyn Theater and the Abbey. In 1976, the Abbey brought The Plough and the Stars by Sean O’Casey to BAM, in what, at the time, was its first US tour in nearly four decades. Interestingly, John Kavanagh, who has a supporting role in John Gabriel Borkman, also starred in that production at BAM 35 years ago. The Abbey has been back to the USA at least six times since, including at BAM once more in 2002 with a production of Medea starring Fiona Shaw.

Joe Melillo says anyone in the theatre community understands the Abbey’s historic importance. “All of us who are theater students study global history and the Abbey’s place within Ireland and the global community,” he said. “What we understand is the great richness of Irish playwriting and the great reservoir of acting talent that is Irish actors.”

Centenary Tour

The Abbey’s centenary tour continues in February, with Mark O’Rowe’s Terminus embarking on a seven-week multi-venue tour that includes Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Ohio, Duke University, and Vermont. O’Rowe is one of an exciting new generation of playwrights emerging from Ireland right now. And if the Abbey’s mission 100 years ago was to build its reputation, make connections and raise money, then it’s aim in 2011 is not too different.

“It’s the same mission,” says Fiach MacConghaile, “To reconnect, build the networks, look for additional fundraising. There are two things the Abbey can do in the US. It can tell the good news story about Ireland. It can show off the best skills we have in terms of craftspeople, stage people, actors, writers – we can show off what Ireland’s good at. And what we need to do is build relationships in the US so that we can raise money for us to do our work back in Ireland.”

John Gabriel Borkman continues at BAM Theatre Brooklyn, until February 6

[This article originally appeared in the Irish Examiner USA on Jan 25 2011]

Bono and Glen Beck buddies, as Spiderman delayed for the FIFTH time

U2’s Spiderman musical on Broadway will not now open until March 15^th, after producers postponed the opening night for a fifth time.

The show, Spiderman: Turn off the Dark, had been due to finally open on February 7^th, but its creators, which includes Bono and the Edge, say they are still fine-tuning aspects of the show, including a new ending.

“We simply need more time to execute the creative team’s vision,” said producer Michael Cohl, adding that the show was “ten times more complicated” to technically rehearse than anything else.

He said the schedule of previews allowed just 12 hours a week for rehearsals.

“I picked a date in March that allows me to ensure this will be the final postponement,” said Mr Cohl.

The $65m production will have been in previews for longer than any other show in history by the time it 

opens.

Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark has become the biggest hit on Broadway since previews began in November.

Last week, it overtook the long-running Wicked as the highest grossing musical in New York, raking in more than $1.5m in ticket sales.

But there is controversy that this success has come without an opportunity for critics to give their verdicts.

There is a convention among New York theatre critics that shows are not reviewed during previews, but only 

after they officially open.

However, given the massive delays, some publications have already broken this rule, arguing that audiences are paying full price for tickets and deserve to get an independent critical assessment of the show’s quality.

It’s very likely that others will now be tempted to review the show too, given that there are two full months before it “officially” opens.

One positive review has come from an unusual source – conservative radio host and Fox News pundit Glenn Beck said it was “by far the best show I’ve ever seen”.

On his radio programme this week, he spent 30 minutes heaping praise on the show, predicting it would be the “Phantom of the 21^st Century”, and accusing early reviewers who panned the show of snobbery.

He describes hanging out backstage with Bono, and giving advice to the U2 man on how to improve the show.

The production has been bedeviled by problems – four actors have been injured in separate accidents, audiences have reported technical difficulties during its spectacular aerial stunts, and one of its lead actor’s Natalie Mendoza quit the show last month.

Nonetheless audiences are still flocking to previews, with some paying up to $292.50 for a ticket.

Bono and the Edge are not thought to be writing any more new music for the show, but they have drafted in album producer Steve Lillywhite, who worked with U2 on October, War and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, to help with Spiderman.

Imagine Ireland launches in the US

Gabriel Byrne and Colum McCann

The biggest ever promotion of Irish arts in the US has been launched in New York.

Over the next 12 months 400 individual events will take place across 40 States - in an attempt to rebuild Ireland's reputation by reminding Americans of its rich cultural and artistic traditions.

Here's a radio feature I did for RTE's Morning Ireland on the launch, featuring Gabriel Byrne, Colum McCann and others.


[It was broadcast Monday January 10th, and is similar to my written blog entry on the launch, but also contains new material]


http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0110/morningireland.html

Tourism Minister defends Paddy's Day junkets

Minister Mary Hanafin pictured with Eugene Downes, Culture Ireland, actor Gabriel Byrne, author Colum McCann and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn at the launch of Imagine Ireland on Friday

The Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin has confirmed that preparations are proceeding for members of the government to travel overseas for St Patrick’s Day, despite the likelihood that it could be in the final days of a general election campaign.

Speaking in NewYork on Friday, the Minister accused Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny of being “far too cynical about the importance of St Patrick’s Day”. The Opposition leader had argued that trips by ministers would be viewed as a “cynical swansong” by the public, and claimed some foreign leaders might not wish to meet lame-duck ministers, who could be out of office just weeks later.

“We should be all out there taking this opportunity to promote Ireland,” Minister Hanafin said, “St Patrick’s Day is our opportunity – any other country in the world would kill for it.”

“If the leader of the Opposition wants to go as well, I don’t see any difficulty,” she added.

She denied that photographs of Taoiseach Brian Cowen with US President Barack Obama in the White House, would sprinkle a little stardust on the closing stages of a Fianna Fail campaign. She said that photos of Mr Cowen with Barack Obama had been seen before and would be nothing new for the public. 

“The St Patrick’s Day message this year will be about investment, it will about the strong reputation of Ireland.”

Asked if it would not be better to hold the election before St Patrick’s Day, and allow the foreign trips to be the first big event for a new administration, she said “the message is the same”.

“The message is about Ireland. The message is not about Mary Hanafin. It’s not about Brian Cowen. It’s about Ireland as a place to invest. It’s about Ireland as a place to visit. It doesn’t matter really who the messenger is, it’s the message that is important for St Patrick’s Day.”

She said planning was already underway for the visits, because regardless of who goes, the programs in the host cities are pretty much set. “So for example I’ve attended in New York for a couple of years,” she said, “And there is the program of the Mayor’s breakfast, the Governor’s breakfast, meeting all the political leaders and a huge round of media opportunities.”

She said London was particularly important this year from the point of tourism and she hoped as Minister for Tourism to promote Ireland in the market there. “The planning goes ahead, the programming goes ahead,” she said, “The only thing that has to be slotted in is the individual.”

She said the election date was a matter for the Taoiseach to decide. “But the one thing that should not happen, it should not be on Patrick’s weekend,” she said, “Because we don’t want it to interfere with that.”

100 years of the Abbey Theatre in the US

Ireland's national theatre, the Abbey, is celebrating the centenary of its first tour to the US with another tour in 2011. 

Previews of their first show "John Gabriel Borkman" with Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw and Lindsay Duncan begin at BAM in Brooklyn tonight (Fri Jan 7th). 

Here's a feature I did for RTE's Morning Ireland radio programme this morning for those interested...

http://www.rte.ie/news/morningireland/