Spider-man the musical. After years of toiling to even get off the ground, it's finally here...and with lots of bad press. Despite the hitches, Spider-man has the potential for being a really good musical. There were, however, several thorns that need to be pruned for this show to be a critical and commercial success. Let's start with some positive things.
Reeve Carney, who plays Peter Parker/Spider-man is charming, just nerdy enough and likable. His voice is smooth and rapturous and hopefully this project coupled with the "Tempest" film launches his career. Jennifer Damiano was easy to watch as usual. Nothing spectacular about her performance or her songs but it was nice to see a familiar face. The rest of the cast was polished and enjoyable to watch performing acrobatic tricks, flying around the house, acting like nerds and hip-hop dancing bullies, and shoe-wearing spiders. The cast is dynamite. If only they had material where they could totally show off their chops...but more on that later.
Surprisingly, TV Carpio had a standout performance as the newly created character Arachne. It was nice to know she was an even better singer live and with other material besides reproduced Beatles numbers. What did confuse me about her character was the muddled half-proper/half-cockney British accent. And why is it that's the go to dialect for the more ominous characters?
Despite Carpio's performance, Arachne took valuable time and focus away from Peter's narrative. Her mystic, Greek origins don't fit within the science centered Spidey universe. At times I felt the show was more about her rather than the deepening of Spiderman's mythography. As much as I liked her concept- it wasn't Spiderman.
Going in, I was apprehensive about Bono and the Edge writing the music. However I saw why someone thought this would be a brilliant choice for a Spider-Man musical. The rock score was well suited for the action sequences and underscoring dialog. I thought it also communicated the right tone for the show. What it did not do was help the actors get to the heart of the characters. The problem with the composing pair (other than the fact it sounded like a Bono album)is that their music sets a mood for five minutes rather than starting with one objective and then propelling the character to another one. This was especially disappointing given how much I liked the cast. A few melodic tweaks that gave their songs climax and few moments of vocally showing off would've endeared the audience to them more fully.
The marriage of the power of Bono's music to a seasoned Broadway lyricist might have made this show great. As it is, it rests on shear spectacle and the ensuing horror stories that have generated the string of spoofs.
The script suffered from the same defects that many scripts do today- ideas without premise. The geek chorus, Arachne being the true origin of Spiderman, the villain fashion show, an apocalyptic Spidery villain team-up, flying over the audience, and moving set pillars with bright, animated action sequences, were all good ideas. They're not even that far from being connected in a single story. But as the show is currently written they only serve to make one element detract from the other.
For example:
1)It was unclear whether the geek chorus were fans telling the story or actually making it up. Their level of omniscience varied throughout the show. They could've actually been an interesting plot tool but right now they seem like time fillers to set up the action sequences.
2) Speaking of, the random pop-up like set pieces were cool to look at, but muddled the line between this being an actual story or a comic book brought to life. Either is a fine choice just pick one.
3) Arachne could've plausibly been inserted into the Spiderman origin story if she was not depicted as a being suspended in the astral plane. Perhaps she's the spider that bit Parker in the first place brought to life by another experiment gone wrong?
4) If you're going to go whole hog and spend 65 million on a show, why not go super, major over-the-top? Instead of simply computer images with stylized movement, why not entire filmed action scenes that bleed over into the live peoples' sequences above the audience?
5) When the villains made the Sinister Six and began terrorizing the world causing global blackouts, I was like "this would be a totally cool idea for a story!" And then it ended anticlimactically with Peter Parker punching them to smithereens in one blow each cause the whole thing was an...oh wait, that's a plot spoiler. Point being, this had epic awesomeness potential but ended quickly and the "actual" climax was severely less satisfying.
All these ideas were good but weren't executed to their fullest extent and not contextualized within a story that connected them together in a way that made a point about man and Spider-man.
The basic structure of a cliche story is there but for some reason, Julie Taymour and her book co-writer self consciously opted away from TELLING IT! This gave the plot a random outburst feel with things like "Will you marry me?" getting blurted out without any set-up. Look people, what makes Spiderman an enduring hero is his vulnerability, charm, and everyman persona. Don't avoid asking the basic questions that make his story real to people. Let him deal with the struggle to accept responsibility ON STAGE. Let the relationship with MJ blossom and crumble and come back to life again so the possibility of her death is more poignant and consequential. It's not fun to tear lovers apart if we didn't see them struggle to build something. Where was the romance? Where the identity crisis? Where was the "rise" of our hero? I promise you Taymour, a strong story COUPLED with visual phenomena will make us LOVE your musical. If we wanted only flashy light displays and loud, nonsensical music we can go to a Gaga concert.
Unlike other expensive visual spectacles Like Phantom, Wicked and Lion King (another Julie Taymour creation), Spider-Man doesn't have the staying power these shows do (though I would argue neither does Phantom but apparently the whole disagrees with me since its the longest running Broadway show in history). Connection, innovation, raw feeling, spectacle, and heart were there but clarity of story and accessible music was not. Unfortunately the negatives may trump the positives. I hope revisions will be made before the official opening. Hopefully egos aren't getting in the way of making this a GREAT show and a mainstay of Broadway.
PS
There were minor glitches at this performance but nothing as exciting as someone breaking their neck. Here they are:
1)A "weaver" at the beginning couldn't get unhooked from her wire. A crew member ran on stage and set her free in time to shimmy down to the floor in an ethereal manner.
2)Arachne was not hooked into the balcony wires in time for her entrance. This was the only time the whole show stopped. The actors were instructed to restart the scene so Carpio could make her dramatic entrance on the cue line.
3)The Osborne "green goblin" machine got stuck with the trap door open. The show was not stopped and the platform with the machine was lifted with plenty of time for Norman Osborne to enact the scene of his transformation.
4)Reeve Carney cracked towards the end of his last song. Small but noticeable.
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