SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK OPENING PUSHED BACK UNTIL FEBRUARY

(Photo by Jacob Cohl, cribbed from The Wall Street Journal)

The troubled multi-gazillion dollar Broadway production of
SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK's opening has once again been pushed back, this time to February. From this morning's NEW YORK POST:

'Spider Man' in web of problems, delays Broadway opening again

NEWSCORE

Last Updated: 7:05 PM, December 16, 2010

Posted: 7:01 PM, December 16, 2010

“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” its delaying its opening a third time, moving the official debut of Broadway’s most expensive musical from Jan. 11 to sometime in February so the creative team can work on the ending and other issues, a production source said Thursday.

The musical was originally set to start previews last February, but financial problems put them off until the fall. Last month the show delayed previews again, to Nov. 28, and bumped the Dec. 21 opening to January to allow more rehearsal time.

The more than $60 million production, which features technically complex stage flying, is directed and co-authored by Julie Taymor with a score by U2’s Bono and the Edge.

The show recently received more scrutiny when a lead actress, Natalie Mendoza, became the third performer to suffer an injury. She sustained a concussion in an offstage accident, missed two weeks of performances and returned to the show Wednesday.

The delayed opening would mean an unusually long preview period of at least nine weeks as musical previews typically last four to six weeks. The show declined to comment on any possible delay or whether any performances would be canceled as a result.

Reviews typically do not appear until after a show opens, although since the first “Spider-Man” preview theatergoers have voiced their opinions online, sounding off on the script, score and special effects. Even during previews, ticket prices can still soar to roughly $300.

Read more: http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/12/16/spider-man-in-web-of-problems-delays-opening-again/