Spidey Still Spinning

Knock it all you’d like, but “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” continues to pull in large crowds – many paying top dollar during show previews just to catch a glimpse of the spectacle of it all.

As the show nears its March 15 Broadway debut, the drama surrounding the production, some of which seems to have come straight from the pages of a Spider-Man comic, has mounted.

But neither delays in opening night, nor injuries to cast members, nor even horrific reviews have made much of a difference to audiences.

Following a round of loud boos from the country’s top theatre critics, “Spider-Man” grossed $1.33 million in one week, putting the production second behind “Wicked,” which took home $1.44 million, according to the New York Times.

Show producers are apparently doing their best to battle those poor reviews, recently approaching a playwright to ask for help with script rewrites.

Sources close to the matter told the paper Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who’s previously written Spider-Man stories for Marvel Comics, has been sought out by producers for script work but no deals have been made just yet.

Still, there is one area that could see the undoing of the show’s current, high-flying, format.

“Spider-Man” recently received two safety violations from the New York State Department of Labor, an official reportedly close to the matter told the Times, for accidents that occurred last year.

One accident cited in the violations was stunt actor Christopher Tierney’s onstage fall during which he dropped 30 feet, suffering several breaks and fractures to his ribs, vertebrae, scapula and head. Another violation was related to a stunt in which two cast members were flung from the back of the stage to the front and suffered broken wrists and ankles upon landing.

Following the accidents, the Department of Labor added new safety measures for “Spider-Man”. If the safety measures aren’t followed or further problems are encountered, inspectors could yank the variances that allow the show to include aerial sequences over the audience, the Times reported.

The injuries were recently spoofed on “Saturday Night Live.”