Entertainment

‘Spider-Man’ Musical Reviews Are in — And They’re Not Good

EDITOR’S NOTE:  For a pro-’Spider-Man’ review to counter this AP story click here!

NEW YORK (AP) — The reviews are in for “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark” — and that could be a bit of a problem.

Not because of what they say, but that they exist at all.

Some theater critics are weighing in on the $65 million musical even though it doesn’t officially open until March 15, a move that violates the time-honored agreement between producers and journalists.

The latest reviews — and, for the most part, vicious pans — include assessments by The Washington Post (”a shrill, insipid mess”), The New York Times (“sheer ineptitude”), the Los Angeles Times (“an artistic form of megalomania”), the Chicago Tribune (“incoherent”), Variety (”sketchy and ill-formed”) and New York magazine (”underbaked, terrifying, confusing”).

Their defections, timed to coincide with the third — not fourth — revised opening date, drew a furious response from the show’s producers and threatens to upend the often cozy relationship between reviewers and show backers.

“This pile-on by the critics is a huge disappointment,” said Rick Miramontez, spokesman for the show. “Changes are still being made and any review that runs before the show is frozen is totally invalid.”

Most of the critics have cited as reasons for their impatience the show’s record-breaking preview period and the high cost of tickets, which for a single seat can approach $300. They also worry that producers are deliberately outflanking them by pushing off potential negative write-ups, even as the show enjoys a virtually sold-out run: So far, the musical’s 67 preview performances translate into close to 130,000 tickets sold.

“The big question is: How long do you wait?” Bob Verini, a Los Angeles-based critic for Variety and the president of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, said in a telephone interview. “That’s a fair question that honorable people can agree to disagree on.”

The stunt-heavy show, co-written and led by “The Lion King” director Julie Taymor and with music by U2′s Bono and The Edge, began previews on Nov. 28 after years of delay. It’s planned opening was initially set for Dec. 21, but that was pushed back to Jan. 11, then again to Feb. 7 and now to March 15. By the time it opens, it will have had the longest preview period in Broadway history.

Reviews have always been considered separate from news stories, of which “Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark” has generated many. Several injuries to cast members — including a 35-foot fall by an actor playing the web-slinger that left him with a skull fracture and cracked vertebrae — have marred the production, as well as the defection of a lead actress after she suffered a concussion.

“It‘s a story that has attracted national attention in a way that most Broadway musicals don’t,” says Adam Feldman, a theater critic for Time Out New York and president of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle. “Editors and writers want to have their say in it and get the readership that comes with that.”

Early reviews are unusual: Critics jumped in while the play “Nick & Nora” was still in the middle of its 71-preview run in 1991, and did the same for the musical “Sarava” in 1979 before it finished its 39 previews, then considered outrageously long.

Now the rules have been tossed away again. Some of the reviewers for “Spider-Man” didn’t even see the main cast, including The Washington Post’s critic who wrote a review having only seen an understudy play Peter Parker instead of Reeve Carney.

Jordan Roth, who runs five Broadway theaters as president of Jujamcyn Theaters — though not the Foxwoods Theatre, where “Spider-Man” is playing — urges both producers and media to pull back and see the issue from a global perspective.

“In the grand scheme, we are all in the same industry — those who make the shows and those who write about the shows. We all want the same thing: for people to be interested in shows,” he said. “If the artists say they have more ideas and more work, we should want them to do that.”

Here’s how the process usually works: A show announces an opening date and begins a fixed preview period of a few weeks to work out any kinks. A few days before opening, the production is “frozen,” meaning no more changes are permitted and critics are invited to attend as long as they hold their reviews until after opening night.

The case of “Spider-Man” has strained that agreement to the breaking point, in part because it has become Broadway’s most expensive show and its opening has been delayed four times while full prices are being charged at the box office. Also, a big-budget marketing campaign has been launched, including billboards and TV commercials.

“If they had lowered their prices and been a little quieter, frankly I don’t think the whole issue would have arisen,” says Verini. “Our duty is to our readers. And I think that bombarded by the yin of months of aggressive marketing at top, top prices, they‘re entitled to the yang of guidance as to whether it’s worth it.”

The latest flood of reviews joins previous preliminary assessments by theater critics from Bloomberg, Newsday, the Toronto Star and The New York Observer. The Star-Ledger has also sent a music critic — not its theater critic — to critique the show. The Associated Press is holding off, hewing to its policy to wait until a work is complete before reviewing it.

Part of the frustration some critics feel is because restrictions on their opinions aren’t shared by amateurs, who freely offer their thoughts on Twitter and online message boards. And while the professionals have been stuck on the sideline for weeks, celebrities such as Glenn Beck and Oprah Winfrey have raved about the show, which the production’s media team has been more than happy to point out.

That’s left theater critics wondering where the line is between becoming patsies of producers or champions for consumers. When, after all, is too long? The timing of the latest “Spider-Man” reviews now come just five weeks before the March 15 opening.

“Personally, I really think that waiting and playing by the rules and being a professional is part of what separates the remaining professional critics from the glut of amateur critics that can post their opinions anywhere they want,” says Time Out’s Feldman. “It‘s not like the public has no way to find out information about ’Spider-Man.’ They can go online any day and see what random people are saying.”

Patrick Page, who plays The Green Goblin and Norman Osborn in the show, says he understands the critics’ frustration, but argues that the show simply isn’t yet ready for its close-up. “If I were a critic, I probably wouldn’t want to see it until the whole show is there, until you evaluated the whole piece of art,” he says.

The producers say the delays are because the show is so technically difficult and was built specifically for the 1,930-seat Foxwoods Theatre, meaning a traditional out-of-town tryout to fix glitches wasn’t possible.

Lead producer Michael Cohl has said he considered delaying previews until the production had gelled better, but argued that the cast and crew had to bite the bullet eventually, even if they risked embarrassment and bad press.

The tempest has even prompted some critics to turn on their brethren, such as former Bloomberg critic John Simon, who called the early reviews “unfair to the show” and “discourteous to other critics.” Reviewing before invited to, he argued, is “like grabbing a dish from a restaurant kitchen before it is fully cooked.”

That promises to make for some tense meetings at the New York Drama Critics’ Circle, where both critics who have held off and those who have stormed ahead sit around the same table.

But Verini thinks the hubbub over “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” is specific to the show itself and that things will return to the normal pattern of critics waiting for a show to officially open.

“The preview system has a long and honored tradition and I think it’s safe,” he says. “I think we’ll go back probably to the old, time-honored preview system and everyone will honor it. This one’s just an interesting case.”

Comments (69)

1 2
  • Fina_Biscotti
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 11:31am

    The producers can just go get the Obamas – to have Spiderman appear to be successful – and all their sheeple will follow – and pay the $300.00 a seat… w their money from obama’s stash.

    Report Post »  
  • giulia1
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:54am

    A few weeks ago I at at Taco Bell, yesterday I went to Chick Fil A for lunch (I was not just driving by) and now I have the urge to buy tickets for this show. If they could only link the delay of the show to Sarah Palin, I think the show will break all records when it does open. When will these extreme people learn that they no longer have no credibility and just by them mentioning something they dislike, makes people all the more curious about it.

    Report Post »  
  • PIL
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:53am

    I miss the days when musicals were based on books or new ideas and not on movies. But I understand that Broadway needs to attract a younger audience, oh well.

    http://libertarians4freedom.blogspot.com/

    Report Post » PIL  
    • gothicvamp
      Posted on February 9, 2011 at 1:05am

      Uh – Spider-Man is NOT based on a movie. It is based on a comic book first published in August of 1962. Spider-Man’s alter ego Peter Parker was a teenager – unusual for the time – whose uncle is killed because Peter fails to do what he can in the face of evil. He doesn’t do anything “wrong”, he just figures – like most of us – ‘it’s none of my business, let someone else worry about it’. He learns the hard way that “With great power comes great responsibility”. Parker / Spider-Man is a great allegory for the average American and how we choose to employ our rights, liberties and responsibilities as citizens!

      Report Post »  
  • darlenekay
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:52am

    Is it the Beck curse? He likes it so the critics pan it.

    Report Post »  
  • missionarydad
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:42am

    Translation, consider the critics, it must be one really good show.

    Report Post »  
  • Fina_Biscotti
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:41am

    Maybe this is where Bono sunk the $25 MILLION….of our US taxpayer money…. to build water wells in Africa – and not one water well was built.

    Report Post »  
  • dinadp
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:25am

    Glenn’s praise killed it.

    Report Post » dinadp  
  • moriarty70
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:21am

    Let’s see here, the producers are upset about there being reviews before the official opening, but the producers are treating it like it’s already open by charging full price and having a full marketing campaign. That’s a little dishonest to me.

    As for those who claim that the reviews are bad because Beck liked it, I really can‘t tell if you’re kidding or not. Kim Jong Il could like a show and if it met the standards of the critics they’d say “Even evil has some taste”. Glenn has no bearing on the critics, he can say he does, but he doesn’t. Let me put it another way, “Transformers” was a fun movie, but a far cry from good. This may be a fun show, but that doesn‘t mean it’s good.

    Report Post » moriarty70  
  • Lion420
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:19am

    The reviews are not about the show, but about what Glenn has said. He raved about it, calling it a great story of good vs. evil. Find me one of these leftist dopes on Broadway who understands good vs. evil…or Glenn for that matter.

    Report Post » Lion420  
    • mrlogan3
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 3:55pm

      Anyone who thinks Glenn Beck has anything to do with this needs to hop off of his you-know-what and just accept that people are entitle to an opinion.

      Report Post » TRUTH  
  • ltb
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:08am

    Bad reviews by the Washington Post and New York Times mean it must be an excellent play. Here’s my rule of thumb: If liberals hate something it must be good, if Liberals love something it must suck. Case in point: Palin, Bachman, Reagan, Escalade vs. Weiner, Sharpton, Obama, Prius.

    Report Post » ltb  
  • KEA
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:07am

    They will blame it on Glenn! He loved it and supported it so they cant stand with Glenn so they bash it. Facts dont count

    Report Post »  
  • emertz8413
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:07am

    I always enjoy the shows the critics hate. I used to think I was weird, but now I know I have better taste.

    Report Post »  
  • smithclar3nc3
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:50am

    This is obviously an attack based on Beck praise of the show. Is there any reason to even bother reading the Times,or Post anymore?

    Report Post »  
    • Rapunzel
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:31am

      None.

      Report Post » Rapunzel  
    • encinom
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:32am

      My God, the paranoid conspriacy gene is running wild on the Balze. The musical is a steaming pil eof mess, Beck how considers the velvet picture of dogs playing poker fine art, gave his opinion, the critics have given theirs. Their opinion is based on years of reviewing the good, the bad and the ugly of broadway, Beck’s is based on some vast conspriacy invovling unions, and socialists and islam, oh my.

      Report Post »  
  • rmblount
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:44am

    Is this really news? Really?

    Report Post »  
  • PubliusPencilman
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:44am

    More hard-hitting news from The Blaze!

    Report Post »  
    • p8triot
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:59am

      Then go back to the filth at Huffpo. They have breaking news of Obama not wanting Mubarak to step down. Tomorrow the breaking news will be Obama wanting Mubarak to leave immediately.

      Or, I hear Current TV has some exciting news.

      Report Post »  
    • ForeignWatcher
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 7:20pm

      But its sooo entertaining here. You are all so much trained to see conspiracies everywhere that you really think glenn beck saying something about a musical could influence all major criticy. Oh the hubris.

      All the while you manage to whine about all that too. Bunch of sissys…

      Report Post »  
  • mdlwoods
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:38am

    I guess I agree that us poor common foke must not have the right taste. After seeing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s MOVIE, The Phantom of the Opera, I finally got to go to Broadway and see it on stage. I HATED the stage version. Boy, did I ever catch flack over that opinion! Sorry to any die-hard Sarah Brightman, Phantom stage version lovers, but I really did find everything about the movie, from Emma Watson‘s voice and Gerard Butler’s voice, to the fact that the movie allowed for much better detail and staging, much much better than the stage version. And I LOVE live theater…usually. So, I guess, as far as Spidy goes, we just don’t have the right taste, Glenn.

    Report Post » mdlwoods  
  • mdlwoods
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:34am

    Sorry, Spidy, its all Glenn’s fault! He loves you, so the left hates you. Simple as that! Never mind they probably haven’t even seen the show. We all know that Glenn saw the show, several times, just as he does all the research on events and happenings and George Soros, and the left calls him a liar or a conspiracy theorist. So they also must hate Spidy!

    Report Post » mdlwoods  
  • Utahdrifter
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:23am

    If the reviewers hate it–then it must be terrific!
    Us poor common foke have no elite taste. And I am sure glad cuz we get to see the good stuff.

    Report Post »  
  • martnee777
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:20am

    This is to punish the producers for allowing Glenn Beck to see the show and comment on it. Imagine all those Beck people showing up and buying tickets, we might have to sit next to one of them, how vulgar.
    C’mon Biff and Sissy, we shall right about them in the papers.

    Report Post » martnee777  
  • DashRipRock
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:18am

    $65 million?

    Porgy and Bess would have only been about

    $65 thousand

    Report Post »  
  • the_ancient
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:16am

    Every Movie I have ever liked has gotten “bad reviews” infact when I go to find a movie, I look for the movie with the worst reviews and the chances are I will love it….

    Entertainment Reviewers are just elitist liberals with no concept of the real world

    Report Post » the_ancient  
    • Rapunzel
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:30am

      I agree completely. In fact, the corollary is that if a movie or show gets really good reviews from the critics, it probably sucks.

      Report Post » Rapunzel  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:10am

    When Glenn liked it, you could bet the crtitics would go the other way. If Glenn had raved about “Gone With the Wind” before it was released, it would have gone straight to video.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • DashRipRock
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:27am

      If Margret Mitchell had never written Gone With the Wind

      and Glenn Beck wrote it today…. word for word.

      The media would be apoplectic in their race to call him a Racist.

      Report Post »  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:42am

      You got that right Dash.

      Report Post » Gonzo  
    • dawg of gawd
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 11:13am

      You know, sometimes things – books, movies, plays – just aren’t very good. In fact, I consider it an incredible presumption that you can create something that is entertaining. Very hard to do. From concept all the way through execution, a million things can go wrong, a million tweaks can derail a vision. This particular production was getting panned long before Mr. Beck started talking about it. To think he had anything to do with a critic’s opinion may be fun to claim but impossible to prove or even defend.

      I think it’s more likely that Mr. Beck was just engaging in an inside joke, testing the limits of his influence, trying to see if he could reverse the fortunes of a poorly reviewed musical. Or maybe he was researching the viability of a conservative play being produced.

      Report Post » dawg of gawd  
  • HillBillySam1
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:07am

    “A shrill, insipid mess”, “sheer ineptitude”, “an artistic form of megalomania”, “incoherent”, “sketchy and ill-formed”, “underbaked, terrifying, confusing”……the Obama administration in a nut-shell………

    Report Post »  
  • MONEY_FOR_NOTHING
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:07am

    Some theater critics are weighing in on the $65 million musical even though it doesn’t officially open until March 15, a move that violates the time-honored agreement between producers and journalists.

    This is because there is no honor in lournalism any more.

    Report Post »  
    • Ironmaan
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:13am

      The producers must be conservative.
      http://guerillatics.com

      Report Post »  
    • encinom
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:28am

      Idiot read the full article, the train wreck known as Spider-Man has been in reviews twice as long as any other Broadway play. The producers know that they have a steam pile of mess on their hands and attempted to prevent the reviews from coming out.

      Report Post »  
    • Rowgue
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 11:35am

      It doesn’t matter how long it was in previews. Never before have they published reviews of a show before it opens.

      Report Post »  
    • moriarty70
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 11:52am

      @Rowgue

      Yes they have. The article states 2 other cases of it happening, just that it’s rare.

      Report Post » moriarty70  
  • The Real Captain America
    Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:06am

    I bet Glenn isn’t happy about this…

    Report Post » The Real Captain America  
    • Gonzo
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:13am

      It’s probably not gay enough for the critics to like it. Now, if Spidey fell in love with Aquaman, it would be bigger than Cats.

      Gonzo  
    • NickDeringer
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:17am

      Hmmmmmmm…Glenn loves this show. I wonder if that has anything to do with some of the negative reviews?

      Report Post » NickDeringer  
    • Dustyluv
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:47am

      Glenn liked it…That doomed them in the reviews.

      Report Post »  
    • GeauxAlready
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 9:51am

      .
      GONZO

      That was just Nasty………….

      Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
    • Margaret Thatcher
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 10:21am

      I’d bet Beck expected this. Supposedly the storyline triumphs good over evil. And that’s not what the critics want. Also, Beck saying he loved it and I sure that effected them.

      Report Post »  
    • Xcori8r
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 11:59am

      Yeah, it probably did not challenge traditional values enough to be appealing to the liberal elite.
      It was probably just worthless fun and entertainment.

      Report Post » Xcori8r  
    • jzs
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 2:11pm

      Maybe the critics say they hate it because Beck liked it. Or maybe it’s just cra*.

      Report Post » jzs  
    • rodamaa
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 2:51pm

      Maybe if you add a couple of radical extremists blowing up New York wining victories against the great Satan they would learn to have a greater appreciation for it…

      Report Post »  
    • avideditor
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 4:39pm

      I want to see it after Becks Interview. It sounds like the pan is because of politics. Too bad.

      Report Post »  
    • ForeignWatcher
      Posted on February 8, 2011 at 5:50pm

      I am sorry, but i did never know that “the right” consisted only of whinig sissys. Everything is a conspiration against upright citizens, hu?
      The critics dont like this show, bw, the critics dont like the most shows. And it MUST surely have something to do with Glenn and you all.

      Thats serious issues you got there people.

      Report Post »  
1 2

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love