Turn off the critics (please)
I'm finally coming down from the high of seeing a preview of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway last night. After rushing $30 tickets with my friend Jess in the morning, we spent the whole day in Manhattan anticipating this show. Jess was seeing it for the first time, but this would be my second time after a few months. I knew what awaited us, but I still expected to be surprised that night, hoping something new would enrapture me this time around- something the director changed since last time, or perhaps something I somehow missed the first time. Because that's the thing about this show- there's a lot to feast your eyes upon, a lot attempting to capture your attention all at once. Perhaps too much, in fact, is going on in this show. But that doesn't take away from the splendor of it all if you don't let it.
You see, someone going to see this show for the first time will only truly be able to sit back and enjoy it if they erase any prior assumptions or expectations, forget anything they might have read in reviews, and otherwise try not to be a critic. They might also enjoy it if someone explained the synopsis to them beforehand, however. The almost-labyrinthine plot might confuse most people, but not if they understand a little bit of what's going on ahead of time. It's the same thing people do before seeing a ballet or a foreign-language opera: read the synopsis first to avoid confusion and therefore fully appreciate the performance.
That's what my review is about: appreciation. I've only seen terribly negative reviews about this preview, with the justification that it is the longest preview in Broadway history and at this point has lost the chance to redeem itself. It's possible that it has lost that chance, and I'm not denying that. I'm also not ignoring the many obvious flaws that this preview has. But instead of stating the obvious and focusing on the negative, I will try to focus more on the positive points.
First, the visual effects. The set, the costumes, the lighting, and the general flying around in the air all contribute to a feast for the eyes that will not be forgotten. It's as if Peter Parker and all of his friends and foes jumped right off of the page of a comic book and into the theater. It's live action motion comics. It's cirque-du-soleil. Call it what you want; either way it's undoubtedly astounding. This is what the show has mostly been praised for, if it's received any praise at all.
My next point, the story, is not so easily accepted. The first act moves fast, and none of it is actually important to the plot, which is deceptive. The audience is tricked into thinking that the origin story of Spiderman is the main plot of the show, but alas, it only takes up the entire first act. The audience is expected to be already familiar with this story, and they should be, even if they haven't read the comic books; it's basically the plot of the first Spiderman movie. That is why it goes by quickly, touching each of the important moments in Spiderman's beginnings and then moving right along. The point of the first act is simply to re-familiarize the audience with who Peter Parker is and where he comes from.
The second act is where all of the action is, and where the true plot lies. With even more thrills and spectacles to please the eye than the first act, sometimes it's easy to get distracted and hard to pay attention to the storyline. Especially when you can't understand all of the lyrics being sung. Which brings me to my next point: the music.
In my biased opinion, Bono is no musical genius. He has clearly proven to be an accomplished songwriter, however, so there's no doubt of his talent there. For Spiderman, he does manage to plunk out some catchy motifs and melodic songs that fit the feel of a superhero story just fine. Not every song is memorable, and as far as musical theater goes, none of them can actually function as showtunes. However this is not your typical Broadway musical. Now that I've seen the show twice, I can recall the music more easily, and it has admittedly grown on me a lot. The fact is: the music is good. Not the most amazing score ever, but it works. And that's all it needs. However, there is a drawback. The music may sound nice and all, but some of the songs are not sung in typical musical theater-style: loud and clear. These particular songs are sung like rock songs, with a general lack of diction, making the lyrics at times difficult to distinguish. Still, it gives the audience a feel of being at a rock concert as well, which is appealing to the younger generation that Spiderman was created for in the first place. In the end, the music definitely adds to the overall fun that the show instills.
My final point has to do with the story again, but more specifically to the central plot: Arachne. [This next part has spoilers, but I seriously doubt if anyone cares.] I've heard some negative responses to Arachne; some say her part is weird and/or stupid, and some even go as far as to say that her part should be cut out entirely. I've heard the same about the Geek Chorus, which is going to tie into my point about Arachne as well. The Geek Chorus is what holds the entire show together, from my perspective at least. They are the ones telling the story, which is how Arachne is able to exist in the same world as Spiderman in the first place: inside the imagination of a bunch of geeks writing their own comic book. And Arachne, being the main villain and all, is the most important part of the story: the central conflict. The show cannot function without Arachne and The Geek Chorus, and neither one can function without the other. If the audience can manage to get over the fact that the show is not about how Peter Parker becomes a superhero, saves the day and gets the girl, it might be easier for them to accept these two very essential parts of the story.
The story is told like that of a Greek tragedy, complete with a tragic hero and a Greek (Geek) Chorus narrating and commentating. I found Arachne's scenes to be the most original and interesting. Her songs, too, were among the better ones, with TV Carpio's fantastic performance and ability to demand the audience's attention, holding them captive in one of her webs. With a fierce temper and four extra limbs, she makes for a rather bad@$$ villain. But Arachne is not your typical villain. She is not even introduced as the villain at first, (and this is where the spoilers come in) so it is a pleasant surprise when she is revealed to be the source of all of Spiderman's troubles. That is, if you can stomach the scene with all of the high heels and the fake legs. I thought it was pretty cool actually, but I've heard some disapproving opinions of that particular scene.
Utilizing the "Spider-Man No More!" story arc from the comics that can also be found in the second Spiderman movie, Peter decides to "walk away" from being Spiderman in order to function as simply Peter Parker. Arachne, however, needs him to be Spiderman, so she forces Spiderman to return by- what else?- kidnapping Mary Jane. The big problem here is the ending, however. It's too much like the ending of The Phantom of the Opera, and seemed slightly anti-climactic and perhaps even a little cheesy. The problem is, I can't imagine how else the ending could go. Arachne lures Spiderman to her with the pretense of wanting him as her mate so that they can battle one another, in the hopes that he will kill her. Something to do with the fact that she tried to commit suicide way back in the day and now apparently cannot die a mortal death. This next part confuses me a little bit. Spiderman refuses to kill her, and although Arachne is disappointed in him, she lets Mary Jane go. Peter kisses Arachne and then she dies, "rising above" to become a part of the stars or the heavens, or something like that. It's... well, it's poetic.
So we've got Greek mythology mixed in with the Marvel Universe. Two totally different worlds colliding, but not necessarily clashing, in my opinion. I love the combination because it was original and unexpected, and considering the fact that it could have clashed horribly, I think they handled it rather well, anti-climactic ending aside. Julie Taymor took many risks with this show, and it didn't fall apart- not totally, at least.
Unfortunately, Taymor's larger-than-life vision clashed with the producers and now she's quit. The preview is going on hiatus until May and then sometime in the summer will (finally) officially open with a new director and apparently an entirely new script. I'm afraid of what that means. This could either make or break the show. Personally, I think if Taymor had stayed on and the script stayed mostly as is, with a only few more kinks worked out the show would be just fine. No need to rewrite it entirely. Ah, well. Whether or not this musical continues to stand, in the end I believe it will have a minor cult following. It deserves much more, however. The amount of time, money, effort and energy poured into making this show possible, not to mention the potentially dangerous stunts, deserves a little appreciation. Because they pulled off quite a feat, not a complete mess as some people see it. Julie Taymor has invented an entirely new breed of musical theater, and it is nothing short of spectacular. It is a show worth seeing at least once, if only for the awe-inspiring, breathtaking spectacle that it is.
To conclude: last night's performance was the most fun I've ever had at a Broadway show. There was only one technical difficulty that only took two seconds to fix, and the actor who played the Green Goblin kept the audience entertained during that time. He was fantastic, by the way. I also forgot to mention that once we got to our partial-view $30 seats, a staff member came up and offered to trade our tickets in for third row orchestra seats instead, free of charge. And I must say, having people swinging around on wires right above your head? Pretty exhilarating. Seeing it from the mezzanine the first time I went was okay, but it's so much more fun looking up and behind me to watch a show rather than just plain forward. Now I will find regular shows to be boring. Thanks, Spiderman.
You see, someone going to see this show for the first time will only truly be able to sit back and enjoy it if they erase any prior assumptions or expectations, forget anything they might have read in reviews, and otherwise try not to be a critic. They might also enjoy it if someone explained the synopsis to them beforehand, however. The almost-labyrinthine plot might confuse most people, but not if they understand a little bit of what's going on ahead of time. It's the same thing people do before seeing a ballet or a foreign-language opera: read the synopsis first to avoid confusion and therefore fully appreciate the performance.
That's what my review is about: appreciation. I've only seen terribly negative reviews about this preview, with the justification that it is the longest preview in Broadway history and at this point has lost the chance to redeem itself. It's possible that it has lost that chance, and I'm not denying that. I'm also not ignoring the many obvious flaws that this preview has. But instead of stating the obvious and focusing on the negative, I will try to focus more on the positive points.
First, the visual effects. The set, the costumes, the lighting, and the general flying around in the air all contribute to a feast for the eyes that will not be forgotten. It's as if Peter Parker and all of his friends and foes jumped right off of the page of a comic book and into the theater. It's live action motion comics. It's cirque-du-soleil. Call it what you want; either way it's undoubtedly astounding. This is what the show has mostly been praised for, if it's received any praise at all.
My next point, the story, is not so easily accepted. The first act moves fast, and none of it is actually important to the plot, which is deceptive. The audience is tricked into thinking that the origin story of Spiderman is the main plot of the show, but alas, it only takes up the entire first act. The audience is expected to be already familiar with this story, and they should be, even if they haven't read the comic books; it's basically the plot of the first Spiderman movie. That is why it goes by quickly, touching each of the important moments in Spiderman's beginnings and then moving right along. The point of the first act is simply to re-familiarize the audience with who Peter Parker is and where he comes from.
The second act is where all of the action is, and where the true plot lies. With even more thrills and spectacles to please the eye than the first act, sometimes it's easy to get distracted and hard to pay attention to the storyline. Especially when you can't understand all of the lyrics being sung. Which brings me to my next point: the music.
In my biased opinion, Bono is no musical genius. He has clearly proven to be an accomplished songwriter, however, so there's no doubt of his talent there. For Spiderman, he does manage to plunk out some catchy motifs and melodic songs that fit the feel of a superhero story just fine. Not every song is memorable, and as far as musical theater goes, none of them can actually function as showtunes. However this is not your typical Broadway musical. Now that I've seen the show twice, I can recall the music more easily, and it has admittedly grown on me a lot. The fact is: the music is good. Not the most amazing score ever, but it works. And that's all it needs. However, there is a drawback. The music may sound nice and all, but some of the songs are not sung in typical musical theater-style: loud and clear. These particular songs are sung like rock songs, with a general lack of diction, making the lyrics at times difficult to distinguish. Still, it gives the audience a feel of being at a rock concert as well, which is appealing to the younger generation that Spiderman was created for in the first place. In the end, the music definitely adds to the overall fun that the show instills.
My final point has to do with the story again, but more specifically to the central plot: Arachne. [This next part has spoilers, but I seriously doubt if anyone cares.] I've heard some negative responses to Arachne; some say her part is weird and/or stupid, and some even go as far as to say that her part should be cut out entirely. I've heard the same about the Geek Chorus, which is going to tie into my point about Arachne as well. The Geek Chorus is what holds the entire show together, from my perspective at least. They are the ones telling the story, which is how Arachne is able to exist in the same world as Spiderman in the first place: inside the imagination of a bunch of geeks writing their own comic book. And Arachne, being the main villain and all, is the most important part of the story: the central conflict. The show cannot function without Arachne and The Geek Chorus, and neither one can function without the other. If the audience can manage to get over the fact that the show is not about how Peter Parker becomes a superhero, saves the day and gets the girl, it might be easier for them to accept these two very essential parts of the story.
The story is told like that of a Greek tragedy, complete with a tragic hero and a Greek (Geek) Chorus narrating and commentating. I found Arachne's scenes to be the most original and interesting. Her songs, too, were among the better ones, with TV Carpio's fantastic performance and ability to demand the audience's attention, holding them captive in one of her webs. With a fierce temper and four extra limbs, she makes for a rather bad@$$ villain. But Arachne is not your typical villain. She is not even introduced as the villain at first, (and this is where the spoilers come in) so it is a pleasant surprise when she is revealed to be the source of all of Spiderman's troubles. That is, if you can stomach the scene with all of the high heels and the fake legs. I thought it was pretty cool actually, but I've heard some disapproving opinions of that particular scene.
Utilizing the "Spider-Man No More!" story arc from the comics that can also be found in the second Spiderman movie, Peter decides to "walk away" from being Spiderman in order to function as simply Peter Parker. Arachne, however, needs him to be Spiderman, so she forces Spiderman to return by- what else?- kidnapping Mary Jane. The big problem here is the ending, however. It's too much like the ending of The Phantom of the Opera, and seemed slightly anti-climactic and perhaps even a little cheesy. The problem is, I can't imagine how else the ending could go. Arachne lures Spiderman to her with the pretense of wanting him as her mate so that they can battle one another, in the hopes that he will kill her. Something to do with the fact that she tried to commit suicide way back in the day and now apparently cannot die a mortal death. This next part confuses me a little bit. Spiderman refuses to kill her, and although Arachne is disappointed in him, she lets Mary Jane go. Peter kisses Arachne and then she dies, "rising above" to become a part of the stars or the heavens, or something like that. It's... well, it's poetic.
So we've got Greek mythology mixed in with the Marvel Universe. Two totally different worlds colliding, but not necessarily clashing, in my opinion. I love the combination because it was original and unexpected, and considering the fact that it could have clashed horribly, I think they handled it rather well, anti-climactic ending aside. Julie Taymor took many risks with this show, and it didn't fall apart- not totally, at least.
Unfortunately, Taymor's larger-than-life vision clashed with the producers and now she's quit. The preview is going on hiatus until May and then sometime in the summer will (finally) officially open with a new director and apparently an entirely new script. I'm afraid of what that means. This could either make or break the show. Personally, I think if Taymor had stayed on and the script stayed mostly as is, with a only few more kinks worked out the show would be just fine. No need to rewrite it entirely. Ah, well. Whether or not this musical continues to stand, in the end I believe it will have a minor cult following. It deserves much more, however. The amount of time, money, effort and energy poured into making this show possible, not to mention the potentially dangerous stunts, deserves a little appreciation. Because they pulled off quite a feat, not a complete mess as some people see it. Julie Taymor has invented an entirely new breed of musical theater, and it is nothing short of spectacular. It is a show worth seeing at least once, if only for the awe-inspiring, breathtaking spectacle that it is.
To conclude: last night's performance was the most fun I've ever had at a Broadway show. There was only one technical difficulty that only took two seconds to fix, and the actor who played the Green Goblin kept the audience entertained during that time. He was fantastic, by the way. I also forgot to mention that once we got to our partial-view $30 seats, a staff member came up and offered to trade our tickets in for third row orchestra seats instead, free of charge. And I must say, having people swinging around on wires right above your head? Pretty exhilarating. Seeing it from the mezzanine the first time I went was okay, but it's so much more fun looking up and behind me to watch a show rather than just plain forward. Now I will find regular shows to be boring. Thanks, Spiderman.