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| re: Is anybody else going to be pissed off.... | |
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WarioLoaf 03:54 am UTC 10/21/10 |
| In reply to: | re: Is anybody else going to be pissed off.... - steven_stuart 03:30 am UTC 10/21/10 |
| i will. because if it is then well see X Men the Musical and when/if Jim's Batman comes out it'll look like a copy cat. > > if the "Spider-Man" musical does well? I mean, besides > > me and Jim. > > > > Just asking. > > Does anyone think there is any chance of the "Spider-Man" > show being a financial or artistic success? > > This is an article about "Spider-Man" that I posted ages > and ages ago. > > 'Spider-Man' Is off and Running > > A visit to 'Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark' reveals a > humming production > > There's something wrong in "Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark" > — and only Julie Taymor can hear it. > > "Stop a second," she says inside the Foxwoods Theatre in > Times Square during a recent rehearsal of the much-delayed > show. "We need a sound effect." > > The swelling music abruptly stops. The five actors on > stage — including Reeve Carney as Peter Parker/Spider-Man > and Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane — become still. The > stage lights end their dance. > > Taymor's right: The sound of an angry door slam wasn't > heard. > > "We're on it," says a sound engineer. > > There's naturally much to get done before the costly and > complicated show opens on Dec. 21, but a recent visit by > The Associated Press revealed a methodical and remarkably > calm production. > > Michael Cohl, the lead producer, is asked how it's all > going. "Very complicated, very quickly and very slowly — > all at the same time," he says with a weary smile. "We're > fine. We'll be there." > > The musical has been in the works for more than six years, > starting with an announcement about the show in 2004. > Since then, producers have come and gone, and so have some > cast members — Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming were once > cast as Mary-Jane and the Green Goblin. > > Spider-Man may be the hero on the stage, but it is Cohl > who might be considered the production's savior after he > came in and financially stabilized a musical that had been > dogged by money problems. > > "The budget's OK," he says. "It's a new budget every > day." > > When open, this reported $60 million show will have 41 > cast members, 18 orchestra members and about 18 new songs > by U2's Bono and the Edge. It will have as its main lead a > singer in a rock band whose biggest acting credit so far > is in Taymor's upcoming adaptation of "The Tempest." > > Yet there seems no panic, no screaming. The cast seems > loose, the engineers unruffled, the pauses between resets > without tension. Someone on the technical side even has > her tiny dog on her lap, its head bathed in the light of a > computer screen. > > Between scenes, the Cirque du Soleil-designed aerial > technology is practiced. "OK, we're going hot!" comes the > warning. A moment later, a stuntman in a harness soars > over the crowd at 40 mph, looping huge circles that make > even the jaded gasp. > > "It turns you into a 7-year-old," says Isabel Keating, the > Tony nominated actress of "The Boy From Oz," ''Enchanted > April" and "Hairspray" who will be playing Peter Parker's > Aunt May. > > The scale of it all hits you as soon as you enter the > massive theater, which will seat 1,960 when ready. The > orchestra section's seats have been yanked up to make room > for dozens of makeshift boards acting as desks, crammed > with laptops, phones and monitors. The balcony is packed > with hulking equipment blinking tiny LEDs. It resembles a > NASA control room. > > At the center of it all is the flight director, Taymor, > the director and co-book writer. She often leaves her > perch in the center of the rows to wander about, > communicating to all through a microphone attached to a > headset. Everyone calls it the "God mic." > > "Let's try it again, OK?" she says. > > For several hours on this day, Taymor and members of her > award-winning team — including lighting designer Donald > Holder ("South Pacific," ''The Lion King"), costume > designer Eiko Ishioka (Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula"), > sound designer Jonathan Deans ("Fosse," ''Ragtime") and > set designer George Tsypin ("The Little Mermaid") — > practice and tweak a scene from early in Act I. > > In it, nerdy Peter Parker's glasses are broken by bullies > outside his high school (the fictional Queens High > School). On his walk home he sings the mournful "Anywhere > But Here" and joins up with Mary Jane, his neighbor and > crush. They trudge along on a circular conveyor belt built > into the stage. > > Taymor stops the action at one point to discuss the best > location for Parker's book bag to be retrieved after the > bullying. Carney points to a spot, saying it makes most > sense for the next scene. They calmly reach an agreement > and try it all again. > > If the pressure is getting to either — one the Tony Award > winning creator of "The Lion King" and the other a virtual > unknown singer thrust into the hottest Broadway spotlight > — it's not evident > > The sets change as Carney and Damiano — who was in "Spring > Awakening" and earned a featured actress Tony nomination > for "Next to Normal" — walk on the conveyor belt. A small > train chugs along on tracks high above them near the > rendering of a bridge. > > Huge panels depicting houses along the route open and > close as if a comic book is being read. It's all drawn in > bold, pop art style that overemphasizes angles and > perspective. > > "Peter," Mary Jane says as the couple end their walk and > stand in front of their respective houses. "You're a good > person." > > "Yeah, well," he answers. "I don't know what that gets > you." > > Taymor stops the practice session again. Something is not > right | |
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