Pre-release reviews far short of spectacular for Spidey's Broadway debut...

It is an unspoken rule amongst theater critics that reviews for new productions coincide as closely to said productions' debuts as possible, so as to not scare away crowds and utterly ruin panned shows with early and negative word-of-mouth. However, it would appear that critics have run out of patience while waiting for oft-delayed and infamously-luckless "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" to debut and have instead taken to publicizing their reviews over a month before the show's latest start date of March 15. And, unfortunately for cast and crew, those reviews are more incendiary than one of Green Goblin's pumpkin bombs.

In what may be the most high-profile savaging thus far, New York Times' Ben Brantley called the production a "seriously depressing disaster" highlighted by "sheer ineptitude". At one point in his review, Mr. Brantley asked out loud "how can $65 million look so cheap?" Acknowledging that the official release date was still weeks away, Brantley said that he decided to go see the production on "the night it was supposed to have opened before its latest postponement", sidestepping the slight faux pas by claiming that no amount of postponing will matter, saying that "Turn Off the Dark" is "grievously broken in every respect".

Brantley is far from alone in his critical distaste. Peter Marks from The Washington Post called the show "a stinker", categorizing it as "spirit-snuffing" and one of the worst Broadway productions that he'd ever seen. Marks also publicly wondered about the use of "Spider-Man's" enormous budget and summarized the show as a "shrill, insipid mess". Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney termed the production a "monumental anti-climax", an "ungainly mess", and broached the possibility of "auteurial arrogance" on the part of director Julie Taymor.

In response, "Spider-Man" spokesman Rick Miramontez bemoaned the early critical "pile-on" as a "disappointment", pointing out that changes are still being made to the production prior to its official start date. Miramontez added that any reviews made prior to the show being "frozen" (i.e. finalized) are "totally invalid".

"Turn Off the Dark" has been plagued with a ballooning budget, set mishaps, and a bevy of injuries in the long slog towards its premiere, to the point where some have wondered whether the show is still financially worthwhile and that it may be an unnecessary risk to cast and crew. Regardless of these concerns, it would appear that the production may have to, at the very least, overcome an incoming maelstrom of negative reviews in its quest to recoup its legendary costs.

"Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" is (assumedly) opening on Broadway March 15.

BBC News

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