Features
Spider-Man On Hold, Obama Musical Set To Open
The debut of “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark,” the Broadway musical starring everyone’s favorite web slinger and featuring music and lyrics by U2’s Bono and The Edge, is being pushed back. Producers are giving out ticket refunds.
The musical was expected to kick off Feb. 25 at New York’s Hilton Theatre. According to the New York Post, “Spider-Man, Turn off the Dark” is now expected to open this fall, with previews likely beginning in September and the show opening in November.
Photo: AP Photo / The Canadian Press
Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada
On Tuesday producers said an opening date later this year would be announced shortly along with a new schedule for preview performances at the Hilton Theatre.
The musical was put on hold last summer because of financial trouble but producers now say, “the production is moving forward.”
Tony Award-winning actor Alan Cumming, who stars in “Spider-Man” as the Green Goblin, told the New York Times the musical hit “an iceberg of financial ruin” last year when producers couldn’t come up with enough cash for the show.
The New York Post noted the financing is now secured, thanks in part to a nice contribution from Disney, which recently acquired Marvel Comics.
Michael Cohl, Bono’s longtime business partner, stepped in as lead producer in November.
The musical is expected to cost as much as $50 million, a figure the New York Post says makes the show the most expensive in Broadway history.
Cumming said the costumes, sets and a score by Bono and The Edge promises Broadway audiences “a new, very exciting experience.”
“Spider-Man, Turn off the Dark” is being directed by Julie Taymor, who took home a Tony Award for Disney’s “The Lion King.” Reeve Carney is set to star as Spider-Man.
Refunds are available through Ticketmaster. Ticket holders also have the option of exchanging their tickets when the new performance schedule is announced.
In other musical news, “Hope – the Obama Musical Story,” a show based on President Barack Obama’s 2008 U.S. presidential election campaign, opens at the Jahrhunderthalle concert hall in Frankfurt, Germany this weekend.
The musical is told through the point of view of a group of people sharing an apartment in Obama’s hometown of Chicago.
“The story starts 20 years ago, when Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago, and leads all the way to the 2008 campaign,” said Jimmie Wilson, who plays Obama.
The play features 30 singers, actors and dancers and includes love songs from Barack to his wife Michelle, duets with presidential-hopeful and now U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and appearances from Obama’s Republic opponents – Senator John McCain and his running mate Sarah Palin. Many songs in the play, which is presented in a bilingual mix of English and German, quote the politicians’ 2008 U.S. presidential campaign stump speeches.
Tickets are available for the Jan. 17 opening night. Additional performances in Frankfurt and other German cities are still in the works.
Click here for the New York Times’ article.
Click here for the New York Post article.