U2-Powered Spider-Man Musical Gets Premiere Date (http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20090224/en_top_eo/101420;_ylt=AqdcfGv1UtlMi2goAOmDyLBxFb8C)QuoteSpider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the hyped stage musical directed by Julie Taymor (The Lion King) with music and lyrics courtesy of U2's Bono and The Edge, will kick off what its producers hope will be an amazing run along the Great White Way beginning with previews on Jan. 16, 2010, and a Feb. 18, 2010, opening night.
:blink: I swear, I can't make up stuff this off-the-wall.
I have no idea what to say to that.
I don't know if anyone else here remembers it, but remember waaaay back in the mid-1980s, when Stan Lee (or was it one of then Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter or Tom DeFalco) posted an audition ad in the monthly Bullpen page for a kid's role in an off-Broadway Spider-Man musical that never went into production? (IIRC, they were looking for "a boy or a girl, 8 to 10 years old, loves to dance, act, and sing")
I wonder if this musical is a reworking and revival of that old project?
There was also a Captain America musical under consideration several years ago. Somehow, that seems more Broadway than Spidey.
Quote...music and lyrics courtesy of U2's Bono and The Edge...
A Spidey musical is weird enough as it is but this info is just plain bizarre.
Quote from: Tortuga on February 25, 2009, 06:06:51 PM
Quote...music and lyrics courtesy of U2's Bono and The Edge...
A Spidey musical is weird enough as it is but this info is just plain bizarre.
Not really. David Bryan of Bon Jovi just wrote the music for the new show "Memphis." I think it's kinda neat.
(Of course, Memphis wasn't really that great...but still. ;))
I'm intreiged to say the least... :mellow: :blink: :)
*Has a spider-man 3 flash-back and shudders*
This could be very, very bad...
The last time U2 did something for Superheros it was a godaweful batman movie so I dont know what else to say
Quote from: Ares_God_of_War on February 26, 2009, 06:52:52 AM
The last time U2 did something for Superheros it was a godaweful batman movie so I dont know what else to say
HMTMKMKM is the best U2 song ever by far, though.
I heard about this 3 years ago on NPR. Pretty stupid idea. How can Spider-Man be good on a stage? Bah, BAH I say.
I think I know one of the assistant lighting designers. This has been in the works for ages and has shown up on this forum more than once by the by. :)
Bringing the thread back from the dead to report the project may BE dead...
Latest notes on a troubled musical (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/08/face-it-tiger-mary-jane-isnt-coming-back-to-spider-man-musical/)
Short version: Production suspended, lead actors released from contracts, "cash-flow obstacles" have not been overcome, "Mary Jane" is going after movie roles she previously turned down to do said musical, and yet, it's STILL scheduled to premiere in February.
Well, it could be worse...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebI8H5nq5L4
Quote from: Glitch Girl on August 14, 2009, 04:19:51 PM
Bringing the thread back from the dead to report the project may BE dead...
Latest notes on a troubled musical (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2009/08/face-it-tiger-mary-jane-isnt-coming-back-to-spider-man-musical/)
Short version: Production suspended, lead actors released from contracts, "cash-flow obstacles" have not been overcome, "Mary Jane" is going after movie roles she previously turned down to do said musical, and yet, it's STILL scheduled to premiere in February.
Well, it could be worse...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebI8H5nq5L4
No, because that is awesome.
I kept seeing ads and interviews on Marvel website, but I just couldn't believe that they were going to do it.
It could be worst
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDR-XvJpqBk
@Gremlin:
"It's shway!"
"It's shwarbage."
(aside: actually it probably would be frickin hillarious if they actually did that for real. Gotta get Conroy to sing it though, he does such a great job in the clip.)
@Jey:
You win. That would be worst... worser... whatever. ;)
Yeah, the Batman musical thing could actually be viewed as funny. The Superman musical thing was truly, truly beyond worst.
The only thing that could be utterly horrible to the point of fanboys taking poison would be... if they made the Thor movie as an opera...
Thor as an opera.........
If done right, it could work.....Maybe as an rock opera?
Quote from: BlueBard on August 14, 2009, 08:50:04 PM
The Superman musical thing was truly, truly beyond worst.
wait...what? there was a superman musical?!? I think i just died a little
btw about the thor opera: remember the He-Man musical? i don't know why but i immediatly thought thor would look like that...
oh, and why the hell are they trying to make musical about everything?
Quote from: Trelau on August 15, 2009, 10:14:59 AM
wait...what? there was a superman musical?!? I think i just died a little
Yup. I saw the tv version, it was pretty dire:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Bird%E2%80%A6It%27s_a_Plane%E2%80%A6It%27s_Superman
Youtube also has a version done by a high school, only this one was deliberately played for laughs.
I had a cassette of the Superman musical somewhere. Damned if I can find it anymore. My favorite thing about this musical was that the bad guy wants to destroy Superman so he can rule the world and destroy Sweden. Why destroy Sweden? Cause he's a 10 time Nobel Prize loser. :P Anyways, you can find out more about the musical here (http://users.bestweb.net/~foosie/superman.htm) and see some shots of the cheesy TV production of the musical here (http://thethunderchild.com/Television/Oneoffs/BirdPlaneSuperman/SupermanMusical1.html).
Actually, I think the Batman musical may not have been such a bad idea. Really - aside from Thor --- he's a character very suited for it. I'd imagine it along the same lines of a Phantom of the Opera musical. Tim Burton was to have a hand in it, as well as Jim Steinman to write the songs. You can learn more about it here (http://www.freewebs.com/batman_themusical/home.htm)... and actually hear the songs planned performed.
Spider-Man's got a link too, here (http://spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com/).
RTT
(Updated to add more Superman Musical info.)
As much as it pains me to agree with anything on this subject, if done *just* right, Thor could totally work as a classic Wagnerian-type opera. But, then, it would be more of the mythology Thor, and not the Marvel Thor. Not that that's a bad thing.
Spiderman looks like it has reasonable potential. It can't be worse than the shrek musical.
It looks like Spiderman is finally on the move again. Not too terrible news to me!
Costume preview is up.
Clicky here! (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/09/first-look-at-green-goblin-other-designs-from-spider-man-musical/)
Personal note: And I thought the movie Green Goblin was bad. Where's some brain bleach when you need it?
Hey! It looks like they have the set designer from "The Cabinet of Dr. Calagari", and the costume designer from "Madame Satan".
Spoiler
Okay, it's a realy weak joking insult to both the set designer and the costume designer. It's still what I thought whne I saw them. "Dr. Calagari" is a classic silent movie done in the German espressionist style, and "Madam Satan" is a really wierd movie about a wife trying to win back her philandering husband. The last act of MS takes place on a zeppelin during an art deco masquerade party. If Kay Johnson were a little more like Thelma Todd or Jean Harlow instead of kinda average...
Seeing that makes me *want* to go watch the old '70's Captain America series. Ya know, for the obvious improvement. :thumbdown:
"Swiss Miss"????
Wait People get hot chocolate if they see the show??
Kill me now.
*snort*
*giggle*
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH
Oh...my...god...I love it! I will pay a bajillion pounds to go see this! I will cure cancer, aids, and solve the financial crisis just to see the absolute and complete trainwreck that this thing will be XD
All I can say is, I share everyone's opinions about the Goblin. :banghead:
The Goblin I get...even if I don't understand why he looks like a parade float, but the hot chocolate lady? Who is under all that silver paint anyway? She looks like Grace Jones! Okay, that is scary.
Whaaaa? I thought this was an odd idea to begin with...but my goodness! This is going to be unbelievably terrible. :P
How can this cost $52 million to make?! Musicals are so stupid, who would of thought Spider-Man could make something terrible even less awesome?
Quote from: BWPS on September 12, 2010, 04:07:22 PM
How can this cost $52 million to make?! Musicals are so stupid, who would of thought Spider-Man could make something terrible even less awesome?
I must respectfully dissagree with you about musicals in general, BWPS, but in this particular case I totally agree with you.
Yeah, there are some great musicals (Les Mis being, perhaps, the best example of just how awesome they can be), but this is a fever dream.
Quote from: BWPS on September 12, 2010, 04:07:22 PMMusicals are so stupid
Bite your tongue!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBGOQ7SsJrw&feature=player_embedded
CROM!
Or how about Star Wars the Musical!
http://www.youtube.com/user/gndman001#p/u/13/PTjw19hao_U
Quote from: MikeB7 on September 12, 2010, 10:23:20 PM
Quote from: BWPS on September 12, 2010, 04:07:22 PMMusicals are so stupid
Bite your tongue!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBGOQ7SsJrw&feature=player_embedded
That was beautiful....
If I had to guess, I would guess that the producers for the musical do NOT have unlimited permission to use copyrighted and trademarked Marvel characters and probably couldn't have legally used Goblin's likeness if they had wanted to. Also a good rationale for introducing a new villain that isn't subject to said legalities.
That said, I fail to see who in their right minds would appreciate those costume designs. I can only imagine the travesty that must be the Spider-Man costume for this thing.
Is this project actually licensed from Marvel? I can't imagine how it could go forward if it weren't, but I also can't imagine they'd give up that much creative control or approve such awful designs.
I actually think those costumes are totally awesome. I hope this musical is completely insane.
Is that a giant Spider-Man holding a giant baby Spider-Man in his hand, in the cityscape?
Ah ha ha ha ha ha!!
The costumes really remind me of the neon thugs from Batman Forever...yeah, tough guys dress like that. (when they are heading to Jazzercise class)
Yet more news from the musical that can't catch a break...
Spider-Man delayed again (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/11/opening-of-spider-man-musical-delayed-again/)
Seriously, at this point, this production is going to be legendary. Note I did not say in a "good" or "bad" way, only that it's in a position where it cannot be an anverage or modestly successful run - it will either soar spectacularly, or it will crash and burn spectacularly (http://www.theawl.com/2010/07/understudies-carrie-the-worst-musical-ever), no middle ground.
I really want to see this play, too bad it will never leave NYC and I doubt I will find time to make it down there.
Quote from: Glitch Girl on November 04, 2010, 03:41:06 PM
Yet more news from the musical that can't catch a break...
On the contrary, according to that news item at least one actor has caught
two breaks.
ba-dum ching, BB.
More costumes
USA Today (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/11/first-look-spider-man-on-broadway/1#uslPageReturn)
On the right, is that going to be Mary Jane?
Also Sy-Fy gets into the act (http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/11/spider-man-musical-teams-with-syfy-channel/)
Quote from: Blake Callaway, Syfy’s senior vice president for brand and strategic marketing“It will also be a great way for us to entertain advertising clients and hold events related to the musical, and also associate Syfy with one of the great newly imagined properties on Broadway,”
Someone's gambling big on this, aren't they?
Indeed they are.
The show previewed (http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/68404/238008) this weekend. Apparently there were technical difficulties with some of the flying stunts which stopped the show more than once and one of which ended act 1 early.
QuoteBono, for instance, suggested that they base the character of Norman Osborn, an environmental scientist who becomes the villainous Green Goblin, on Ted Turner, the billionaire entrepreneur whose eccentricities had stayed with Bono after meeting at Mr. Turner's rustic getaway in Georgia. "Bono described this fast-talking, always-thinking, brilliant and strange Southerner, and you're always looking for vivid characters who will pop on the stage," said Glen Berger, who wrote the show's book with Ms. Taymor.
The musical's Osborn/Goblin (Patrick Page) has the gray hair and Southern accent of Mr. Turner and shares his concerns about the environment (hence, here, the "green" angle). "I hope Ted will like it," Bono said.
http://io9.com/5700218/previews-for-the-spider+man-musical-reveal-kraven-carnage-and-a-giant-puppet-hammerhead (http://io9.com/5700218/previews-for-the-spider+man-musical-reveal-kraven-carnage-and-a-giant-puppet-hammerhead)
call it nerdy, call it rampant fanboy ism but i have never wanted to hurt someone as much as i do right now
:eek2:
Wow. That's just... wow. I'm tempted to help TUE find a baseball bat.
:banghead: Have
:banghead: these
:banghead: people
:banghead: ever
:banghead: read
:banghead: a
:banghead: Spider-Man
:banghead: Comic?
The only Spider-man musical I acknowledge is the one with Aquaman and Wonder Woman in it. That's right... the Conan version.
After following up TUE's link and poking around a bit more, found this article (http://io9.com/5701486/the-spider+man-broadway-musical-is-like-eating-a-candy+coated-black-widow?skyline=true&s=i).
The part about the ending (if true) truly makes me cringe.
if we're lucky it'll bomb and bomb quickly
Quote from: Glitch Girl on December 09, 2010, 04:58:51 PM
After following up TUE's link and poking around a bit more, found this article (http://io9.com/5701486/the-spider+man-broadway-musical-is-like-eating-a-candy+coated-black-widow?skyline=true&s=i).
QuoteFirst, Spider-Man's modern comic book adventures have been equally absurd (what with his Satanic divorce to Mary Jane and the Green Goblin knocking up his girlfriend), so this musical is par for the course.
The writer of the article does have a point, there. That's only the tip of the iceberg, really.
So, basically, if you're interested in the stuntwork, have money to burn, and you have a strong stomach for bad plotting you should see it. Otherwise, steer waaaaaaay clear. Me, I'll happily pass.
Spider-Man: The Musical aka Spider-Man 4: Web-Swinging Over The Shark..
I seriously wondered if Joel Shumacher was hiding behind the scenes somewhere when more and more details of this musical started being released.
Then again I figured maybe Sony planned this whole thing so that once the Spider-Man remake is released ANYTHING moderately good would seem like an Academy Award Tour de Force compaired to Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.
- CQ
Ah ha ha ha ha!
Guys, come on. This is stupidly awesome and hilarious. It's not like any kids are going to wind up thinking this is how Spider-Man is suppose to be or something. Maybe some old rich people will though, but who cares? I hope it runs long enough to get filmed so I can actually watch it.
Spider-Man delayed until sometime in February (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/12/opening-of-spider-man-musical-delayed-again-this-time-until-february/)
Here's an odd thought: I started this thread back in February of 2009. I will laugh if it opens around the two year anniversary of this discussion.
I'm just surprised Wolverine's not in this thing at all. Ya know, cuz he's in everything else.
......and there's the whole Hugh Jackman singing thing......
Gold Lamé Wolverine would rock. :D
(I LOVE this clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3zU2IcVzbc))
GG, don't you know watching something like that can cause severe convulsive revulsion in the average American male? I had to turn my head so fast I nearly got whiplash. You should give us more warning next time.
You mean "Gold Lamé Wolverine" wasn't a big enough hint? ;)
Best thing I've heard about it from somebody who actually saw a preview?
"...45 million dollars and not a penny spent on plot..."
Who actually thought a Spider Man musical would be a good idea?!
Quote from: Midnight on December 17, 2010, 04:17:28 PMWho actually thought a Spider Man musical would be a good idea?!
Quote from: Panther_Gunn on November 15, 2010, 06:08:38 PM
Quote from: Blake Callaway, Syfy's senior vice president for brand and strategic marketing"It will also be a great way for us to entertain advertising clients and hold events related to the musical, and also associate Syfy with one of the great newly imagined properties on Broadway,"
This guy. <_<
Touche PG.
Okay, in truth I think a Spider-Man musical is POSSIBLE - I just don't think this is it. From everything I've seen it feels like it's trying to be both campy and serious at the same time and... well they cancel each other out.
Here's a question for y'all: if you had to, how would you go about staging it?
Spoiler
Me, I'd try to aim at the "family" market, without trying to talk down to them. Give it a sort of "Powerpuff Girls" or "Batman: Brave & Bold" vibe - yes there's a threat and it's a threatening threat, but there's also an inherent level of goofiness to it as well.
A quick number at the beginning establishes Peter's powers and situation so we can immediately get running with the plot. By this point 90% of the people out there know his origin, we really don't need to dwell on it much more let alone make it a major percentage of the show. Let's move on and play in the status quo a while.
Main antagonist... that's a toughie. I'm leaning towards Doc Ock because a) he works well with camp yet can still seem threatening b) he's commonly known thanks to the movies c) he can offer some cool visual staging options d) mad scientists are fun. I'd keep other villains to a minimum. Carnage and Venom - no appearance, not even a cameo. Too much baggage attached to both of them. Even so there are plenty of characters to pull from the comic if you need a quick throwaway villain (Dumb Bunny, the Spot, the Walrus, etc)
JJ Jamison needs a musical number in the bullpen. :)
I'd also use both Black Cat and Mary Jane. This way we can have a secondary conflict (an emotional one) without having to explain to little Johnny or Suzie why Gwen Stacey isn't going to be singing any more.
While the sets can be stylized, I'd use little to no symbolism. Sometimes a web-shooter is just a web-shooter.
THIS (http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsJustSomeRandomGuy#p/u/31/uyYb_r4cZHE)
Ok, seriously.
I don't think Spider-Man really does work as a musical. I can totally see it done as a serious live stage play with an instramental music score for mood, yes. The wirework and sets would be incredible.
Musical, as in people singing about what's going on, no.
I can see where you could wring two or three tragic ballads out of Peter's story. Sure, maybe. And you could play the Green Goblin for laughs once, maybe twice. He's insane, so you can get away with almost anything once or twice. But only for laughs, since that's the only way I can picture the Goblin singing outside of one of RandomGuy's videos. The rest of Spidey's Rogues' Gallery, no.
Speaking of which, I would really like to see RandomGuy parody this thing. Redundant, sure, but probably good for more laughs.
Oh my God. (http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/manhattan/actor-hurt-in-broadway-spider-man-20101220)
They need to can this thing.
Quote from: Midnight on December 21, 2010, 04:53:26 AM
Oh my God. (http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/manhattan/actor-hurt-in-broadway-spider-man-20101220)
They need to can this thing.
I agreed, this is getting out of hand
And so we see there is a reason why the studios use CGI... nobody gets hurt trying to perform superhuman stunts without super powers.
Looks like the Parker luck is true to form, eh?
[cringe] It's like "the Scottish play"... people are going to have to start referring to it as "the Spider play" to avoid the curse.
on a lighter note, Peter David saw it and shared his thoughts on it (http://www.peterdavid.net/index.php/2010/12/19/spider-man-turn-off-the-dark-my-review/)
-------------
EDIT:
Seems that the Actors Equity Association agrees with Midnight.
Labor union to stop performances of Spider-Man musical following injury (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2010/12/labor-union-to-stop-performances-of-spider-man-musical-following-injury/)
I don't know about the musical, but the review panning the show by Richard Lawson of Gawker.com was thoroughly entertaining.
Can't link to it as the language is, well, salty. You can follow the breadcrumbs to find it if you really want to.
Fortunately, there are several Marvel movies coming up in the next couple of years that will be worth spending my money on to see.
For the money that was spend on this. they could have made a very decent CGI direct to DVD Spidey movie.
I honestly think this is made and designed specifically to fail... much like the story in Mel Brook's The Producers.
I love seeing how complete an entertainer Hugh Jackman is, makes me think back to old Hollywood. Shame all the flack he got for doing it. James Cagney did tough guy mobsters and musicals - and no flack. Shame the thinking about things nowadays.
Anyways, I love musicals and shows and think why not with Comics on the stage? Remember, Annie was a comic --- big hit. Big has been done in a lot of amazing ways. Take Disney's Lion King for instance. That was amazing... without being dangerous. I think the show can be done... but they need to rethink how a lot differently.
Maybe Spider Man would be better as a Cirque thing, than Broadway.
Just saying.
They should have gotten people from Cirque du Soleil. I figure they are better train to handle stuff like this. I would hate to see somebody get seriously hurt on the set
My Uncle went to see it on opening weekend and from what he said, the show is pretty good. Long but good. The stunts he said were out of this world and the costumes were great. This is a guy who every year goes to New York to see Broadway shows. Plus there was a pretty decent review of the show on Bleeding Cool a week or two ago. So who knows, the show might actually be good if they can work out some kinks.
I believe that the show is good, but I'm worry about people falling and getting hurt
'Spider-Man' went on without a hitch (http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/theater/spider-man-went-on-without-a-hitch-1.2566083)
A friend of mine had tickets to a preview performance. He just messaged me..
Quote
Better than "A superstitious cowardly lot"
More detailed review (hopefully) coming soon.
[ref] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebI8H5nq5L4)
Spider-Man:TOTD "opening" delayed until March (http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/01/opening-of-spider-man-musical-delayed-once-again/)
ADDENDUM: it's about to break the record for show stuck in previews for the longest time.
Linky here (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110114/ap_on_en_ot/us_theater_spider_man)
Previous record belongs to "Nick and Nora" which had 71 preview performances (Spidey's currently over halfway there) before it opened for a week and then closed.