What do you get when you take everyone’s favorite web-slinger and throw him into a stage show filled with songs provided by Bono and the Edge and directed by the legendary Julie Taymor? How about “Spider-Man:Turn Off The Dark” (yes, that is actually what they’re calling this thing), a massively budgeted Broadway spectacle that I’m pretty sure nobody asked for. Several photos of the long delayed project surfaced onto the old internet a few days ago (taken by none other than Annie Leibovitz). And now those curious have their first peek at what to expect. Well, guess what? It’s even more out there than anyone could have imagined.
Go ahead and click right here to check them out. I’ll wait.
Pretty mindblowing, huh? My guess is that someone with a lot of cash really loved that terrible nightclub scene in Spider-Man 3 because I can’t imagine how else this could have possibly been put together. Here’s what the producers themselves have to say about it:
“Drawing from over forty years of Marvel comic books for inspiration, SPIDER-MAN spins a new take on the mythic tale of a young man propelled from a modest rowhouse in Queens to the sky-scraping spire of the Chrysler Building, the bustling offices of the Daily Bugle, through the dizzying canyons of Manhattan, to new vistas never before seen. The musical follows the story of teenager Peter Parker, whose unremarkable life is turned upside-down — literally — when he’s bitten by a genetically altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to his bedroom ceiling. This bullied science-geek — suddenly endowed with astonishing powers — soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility as villains test not only his physical strength but also his strength of character. Spider-Man’s battles will hurtle the audience through an origin story both recognizable and unexpected — yielding new characters as well as familiar faces — until a final surprising confrontation casts a startling new light on this hero’s journey.”
Yeah, yeah…with great power comes great blah, blah, blah. We GET IT. Now of course, I could be wrong here and this show could end up being something pretty incredible. But then I look at that Green Goblin costume again and come to my (Spidey?) senses. At least there’s that reboot of the film franchise directed by Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) that’s in the works and seems to be headed in the right direction. Martin Sheen was recently cast as Uncle Ben and the studio is pursuing Sally Field for the role of Aunt May. In any case, those of you looking for a taste of some quality Spidey action right now, be sure and check out Spidey’s bi-weekly “Amazing” comic currently being written solely by the always enjoyable Dan Slott. The word on the street is that this is the most fun the book has been in years.
You can read up some more on “Turn Off The Dark” (again, wow) by clicking this link and to check out what’s sitting on your local comic stands at the moment, clicky right here.
