Today, several reviews of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” — including mine — have landed, more than a month before the show’s official opening. Or at least the latest official opening: For a while, the musical was scheduled to open on February 7, and quite a few critics decided to go by that date. I can’t speak for my colleagues’ motivations, but I think it’s fair to say there was a sense that enough is enough. The timing isn’t surprising at all for anybody who’s been following the Spidey saga.
That the vast majority of reviews were negative isn’t surprising either — the show really isn’t vey good, and my mixed review is one of the kindest out there.
What did come as a bit of a shock was the open glee with which some critics took down the show. It’s as if they were happy the musical wasn’t good, and I’m not sure that’s an appropriate frame of mind — like stopping by to witness a car crash, then shooting at the survivors for good measure.Â
The tone was also very personal at times, as if director Julie Taymor had personally offended them. If only the same level of indignation could be aimed at the imagination-deprived hacks who routinely infest Broadway and the bigger non-profits. Not to mention that Bono and The Edge are getting off scot-free here. What, they didn’t have input on anything other than the score? Oh, and thanks for getting out of Dodge and leaving Taymor to deal with the mess, guys. I’m sure you had important concerts to play, crucial editorials to write and imperative business to conduct in Davos.
Finally, I’ll just point out that from the beginning, one of the things that stuck in people’s craw was the show’s budget. And in theater, big budgets are reflexively associated with crass commercialism. It’s as if nobody in this industry could imagine that a $65 million spectacle (eveybody holding up their nose to avoid breathing in that word’s stench?) could have any redeeming artistic value. Well, maybe not this particular spectacle, but why have a negative bias just because of the budget?
Me, I’m genuinely bummed that “Spider-Man” doesn’t work. Who in their right mind would rejoice at a show’s failure?