Poop Culture, more like.
Spider-Man, the Musical - music by Bono
No, really. It is happening. They are selling tickets.
I'm telling ya... it's gonna be a stinker...
I've been trolling around the interwebs, listened to one of the songs, looked at the costumes for the Goblin and some made-up villain "Swiss MIss" (yes, really)... and there is nothing there.
Hell, even the title is stoopid:
"Spider-Man Turn off the Dark"
Can you imagine what the critics are going to do with that?
Just cruised ticketmaster -
Nov 14 - previews begin (tickets still available)
Dec 21 - opening night (sold out)
and from Nov 14 to Dec 31 - looks like 5 sold out days;
after that, no sold out days, yet
This is up to about a $50M investment, plus whatever it costs, per day, to keep it going.
It's in a 1800 seat theater. They say it'll take 5 years of sold-out seats just to reach the break-even.
previews begin in 5 weeks... tickticktick...
"Spider-Man Turn up the Lights"
"Spider-Man Close the Door"
"Spider-Man Turn off, period"
Any other predictions for what the pithy titles will be for the reviews on Nov 15?
I fearlessly predict it does not make it past Jan 1.
Stay-tuned.
3 comments:
As much as I think this is going to be BAD, I think it will have legs. For unknown reasons U2 is actually a respected band…frightening I know…but I see this as poison here to stay.
And maybe the last nail in the coffin for “theatre”.
(all that said I've avoided anything having to do with seeing any images, readign any news, or hearing any of the music)
I had also been avoiding it, but someone told me that tickets were on sale, so I just had to see how it was (or was not) doing.
What do you think the intersection of "U2 aficionados" and "comics fanboys" and "families of 4 paying $500 to see a high-drama, politically heavy musical" is?
Who is this being marketed to? If it is not for everyone, it ends up being for no one.
I'll eat my blog if I am wrong, but when you mess with iconic expectations (read: every Marvel superhero movie up through a few years ago) you get no one signing on.
I was really just meh on the whole thing and going to ignore it until I saw these (Spoiler alert: Goblin & Swiss Miss costumes):
http://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/wordpress/2010/09/10/green-goblin-and-swiss-miss-musical-costumes-revealed
Well, I’m very far removed from having my finger on the pulse of ‘culture’, or lack of it. And my theatre-knowledge is moreso based on what’s happening in London, which seems to be the same shit that ‘makes it’ in NY. Basically riffs on movies (wiz of oz, bill elliot, etc) and/or things based on vaguely questionable music to begin with (queen, abba, etc) peppered with utter trash like whatever Loyd Webber is puking forth with.
Even classic plays desperately need a “star” in the billing, and even then the box office is less than stunning.
To be a contemporary playwright must really be one of the worst struggles to stay solvent.
I have no interest, either way, in what Spider-Man is doing on Broadway. I have no interest in the movies (any comic book movies, and damn near every other non-comic book movie) and I thought the mainstreamness of it would (for some reason) damage my childhood love. It hasn’t (at least not any more than Bendis entirely fucking up the Marvel universe…but I haven’t’ read a comic in nearly a year).
I just interject “not the movie version(s)” when, if ever, I’m talking about it. Same with “The Spirit”.
My Marvel-turned-Disney stock would be the only real care I could have. But once the project was announced (2 or 3 years ago?)I was so turned off I didn’t read any fine print to even see when there division of rights lays.
Anyway, my thoughts that it will survive and do rather well is only based on my ever-increasing experience that people are really, really quite stupid and will do damn near ANYTHING to escape actually just sitting somewhere and thinking and/or observing, reading a book that is not sanctioned by CNN, spending time with their family or doing something original.
As Dennis Miller used to say when he was sane, “that's just my opinion. I could be wrong”...
(but I doubt it)
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