Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark

OK, so this post is really more or less an excuse to use the phrase “Jazz Hands” in a title, but it’s also an update on the troubled production of the Bono & The Edge scored musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

The other big new musical of the season, should it happen — and that’s an “if” the size of the Empire State Building — is the star-crossed Spider-man, Turn Off the Dark. Suffering from a mountain of bad word-of-mouth and backstage gossip about its future, the latest word from the Julie Taymor-directed, Bono-The Edge-scored mega-musical is that it would open in “2010” (the previous start date was more specific, Feb. 25) and that Reeve Carney would star in the title role. Also announced was Michael Cohl. Cohl’s not an actor, he’s the new lead producer of the show. It’s highly unusual for a production to switch producers mid-stream and the move is indicative of the stress the high-budgeted show has undergone over the last year. Stay tuned. [Playbill.com]