With Great Money Should Come a Great Show

By Jonathan Jones
Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Nine months after viewing the initial incarnation of Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark, I returned to the Foxwoods Theatre this afternoon to catch the re-imagined version. Nine months ago, I found the work to have dazzling special effects, but little else to light the imagination. Much of the music was one rock-ballad after another, bland, and the book was in complete disarray. The so-called "Geek Chorus" who framed the piece was ill-placed and distracting. Too many threads were leading the audience in a variety of directions with no clear unifying vision. And the dancing spider fashion show was the most ridiculous waste of theatre space I think I have ever had the bad luck of being treated to (at least since the whole of Dirty Dancing).


Now, the book works! Praise be to the gods of theatre who made this dreck actually engaging on its own dramatic merits. Sure the teens are still whiny and annoying, but there is a good, clean, and clear story here. The music is mostly (unfortunately) still a bit of a ballad-laden disaster--unfortunate because the underscore is very powerful (perhaps The Edge should turn his full attention to scoring James Bond films and the like), but every time Mary Jane or Peter Parker opens their mouth to let out their latest angst-ridden warble, I died a little. In this performance, stand-by Mathew James Thomas was Peter Parker, and like lead performer, Reeve Carney, it is clear that he got the role due to the nearness of his vocal styling to Bono's - but really, we don't need another Bono (some might say, we don't need Bono at all, but I digress...) Jennifer Damiano is beloved by many, but I am not a supporter. Perhaps with better material she would shine, but the neither the music here nor in her previous effort Next to Normal makes me move. To each his own.


The choreography, while sparse, was a highlight for me back in December, particularly in "Bullying By Numbers" and "Pull the Trigger." Now, having experienced Bring It On in the interim (that work choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler), I am less amazed by this work. Additionally, I sorted out my love for the militaristic moves in "Trigger"--as they are nearly exact steps from Madonna's 1993 effort, The Girlie Show ("Holiday" and "The Beast Within" in particular).


Alas, as a whole, there is no fat to trim. Book wise, every moment is necessary though sometimes things get a little off in the midst of a song (the opener to Act II, "A Freak Like Me Needs Company" remains a disaster). I was arguable disinterested in the first act when death by rock ballad was at its height, but as the second act progressed (a time when most musicals seem to unravel a bit), I really was drawn in. There is much to be learned about allowing fresh eyes to shape a creative work when it has gone off its track from this $75 million former catastrophe now turned worth your money. It's not brilliant, but it's definitely a crowd pleaser.

Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark is playing on Broadway at the Foxwoods Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com