tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5641398182926491003.post5163514512914436616..comments2024-03-23T10:31:52.756-04:00Comments on Rick On Theater: Reviewing the Situation: 'Spider-Man' & the PressRickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164037407475532693noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5641398182926491003.post-27901651722826685732013-11-21T00:00:34.973-05:002013-11-21T00:00:34.973-05:00On Tues., 19 Nov., the New York Times ran a brief ...On Tues., 19 Nov., the New York Times ran a brief article that reported in part:<br /><br />"The $75 million Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,' the most expensive theatrical production in history, will close in early January after months of declining ticket sales, one of the lead producers said on Monday night. A somewhat revamped version of the show is being planned for Las Vegas in 2015, according to the producer, Jeremiah J. Harris."<br /><br />According to the report, the reason for the closing after a three-year run was poor box-office performance against the high weekly cost of running the FX-laden show. On Wed., 20 Nov., the Times further reported, "Investors and executives with the Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' said on Tuesday that the show will have historic losses of up to $60 million when it closes on Jan. 4." Most Broadway shows, the paper said, cost around half as much as 'Spider-Man,' which cost an estimated $75 million, and lose $5-$15 million if they close before recouping their investments. <br /><br />~RickRickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164037407475532693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5641398182926491003.post-90949356923643224022013-11-04T23:33:38.979-05:002013-11-04T23:33:38.979-05:00The New York Times has published a review (in the ...The New York Times has published a review (in the "Arts" section of Monday, 4 November 2013) of a new book, 'Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History,' recounting from an inside vantage point the tale of the misbegotten production of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.' Mark Harris, the review-writer, characterizes the book, by Glen Berger, who'd been one of the librettists on Julie Taymor's musical project, as "less akin to a standard anatomy of a disaster than to a post-Watergate memoir . . . in which the teller of the tale shares culpability but at least had an awfully good seat from which to view the crime." Harris concludes that readers finish 'Song of Spider-Man' "knowing two things you didn’t after seeing 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.' Mr. Berger knows how to write, and he can tell a good story."<br /><br />~RickRickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164037407475532693noreply@blogger.com