Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

What show this season had the most drama? Hint: It is not a play, and its drama wasn't even a part of the script. In fact, it wasn't even in the show; it just surrounded it and kept Broadway followers engaged for months. I am talking, of course, about Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. I recently had the opportunity to take in the 2.0 version of this show, complete with new book and new direction. The story pretty much follows the 1st film exactly. Yes, there is some other silliness thrown in, but no converted movie to musical follows its film 100%. Let's start with the best part: the sets. Wow. Can you say anything else? This show was visually stunning. The pop out school, the inked lined drawings, the moving movie screens, the bridges, the subway, the how-did-that-work aerial view of the street-- it was all just, well, stunning--hands down, the best sets I have ever seen. Now, let's talk tricks. Other critics have said that Spider-Man flying over the audience each time gets dull, because it uses the same flying track. Major disagree. It's cool every time he does it. Zipping over the heads of audience members with perfectly timed lights following his every move, what's not to love? The Green Goblin is the major villain now, and he is actually a pretty funny part. His interaction with the audience was priceless and his scene when he got stuck on hold while calling in his threat to the city was was the funniest scene in the show. "Bouncing Off the Walls," an acrobatic scene right when Peter discovers his power, was my favorite musical number. Filled with his new skills, Peter is literally bouncing and flipping and running around the walls before taking to the streets to show off his new found swinging and flipping abilities. Their timing was a little off though. One Spider-Man would be on his last one or two back handsprings across the stage, while the next had already started his aerial trick, causing you to have more than one Spider-Man on the stage. I did also spy a stage hand or two who were assisting with the safety clamps and landings on perches. No big deal. Also, I cannot figure out how their "webs" to catch the bad guys worked. It looked like a whole bunch of ribbons thrown in their faces, but it came out much nicer than them just throwing it without it looking like there was a device. Oh well. While, overall I did love the show, it was peppered with a few "What the hell?!?!" moments. You know what I mean right? They'd be doing something very cool and totally appropriate for a musical that costs a figure that is now over $70 million, and then they'd do something that'd make you think "What the hell?!?!" Examples? The bobbled-headed villains, the wrestling a blow up dummy match, and the creepy "I'll pull you towards me and we'll awkwardly rotate around each other in slow-mo for an uncomfortably long time" scene between Peter and Arachne, just to name a few. That rotating air scene, by the way, takes place during the song "Turn Off the Dark," so while it felt like a completely pointless song with an unnecessary character, it will more than likely stay due to it being the title song. Damn.

Stage door time! I went to get my Playbill signed and got the main bully, Aunt May / teacher, Arachne, and, drum-roll please, Spider-Man! As always, the actors were very nice and extremely thankful. I don't know how the critics will react to the new 2.0 version, but I certainly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who asked.