CONFIRMED: SPIDER-MAN THE MUSICAL

[MattBrady]

Press Release

Marvel Studios has confirmed that plans are underway to produce a Broadway musical based on Marvel’s ever popular Super Hero, Spider-Man. Produced by Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Martin McCallum, Marvel Entertainment, and SONY Pictures Entertainment (billing in formation), the musical will be directed by Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor with U2’s Bono and The Edge creating new music and lyrics for the project. A reading is scheduled to take place this summer. No dates for a Broadway opening have been confirmed at this time.

The Spider-Man musical will mark the first time a Marvel character has been the subject of a show on Broadway. In addition to co-producing the show, Hello Entertainment is arranging all financing for the project.

"Marvel continues to look to every entertainment medium to support the enduring popularity of our Super Heroes, and we are thrilled with the talent on board. The all star creative team -- led by Julie Taymor, Bono and The Edge -- is second to none and we are certain this project will delight fans of Spider-Man and new audiences alike," said David Maisel, Chairman, Marvel Studios, whose previous Broadway credits include spearheading the 1999 Tony Award-winning Best Musical Fosse.

[akirajak]

i feel sick

[swanstand]

Well that's something you don't see every day.

[skinnyboy23]

This looks #@$!ing AWESOME!

[Binker]

Oh.....no......

[RoiVampire]

i would actually pay to see this

morbid curiosity

[Kevin T. Brown]

Hmmmm, obviously people never heard of "It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman" on here...

Of course, that came out in 1966.

[howiekang]

Every entertainment medium huh, how about an X-men porno i would love to see that.

[razorwing77]

I hope this does as well as Captain America: The Musical.

[gwangung]

Originally Posted by swanstand

Well that's something you don't see every day.

On the contrary, if you know Broadway, you WOULD see stuff like this every day.

The wonder is that it hasn't happened sooner.

[gwangung]

Obviously, people around here feel that the core ideas of Spider Man aren't strong enough to be translated to other artistic forms....

[Cyberbabbl]

Julie Taymor is a directorial genius, and superheroic mythos should give her all sorts of opportunity to create an amazing sense of theatricality.

I'm more excited about the potential for this project than for just about any other Spider-Man project I've heard of recently.

Oh, yeah, and I hear that U2 are pretty good, too . . .

[RickinToronto]

Oh man, now I can't get that Spider-Man theme song out of my head...
*argh*
Thanks, Newsarama.....

[astronato]

I want a Fantastic Four musical and instead of U2, I want Beck, the Flaming Lips and Frank Black to write the music.

[TurdFerguson]

This looks like a big steaming pile of ____. what the hell is the matter with producers these days? they think the shittest ideas will make them money because its got spiderman or some big star it it like bradjolina

[funjoe]

Originally Posted by TurdFerguson

This looks like a big steaming pile of ____. what the hell is the matter with producers these days? they think the shittest ideas will make them money because its got spiderman or some big star it it like bradjolina

I get the skepticism, but how can you say it looks like a steaming pile when we know (and have seen) absolutely nothing about it other than it's a musical and it has an acclaimed Broadway director and two very talented musicians involved?

[Scorned1]

Originally Posted by Kevin T. Brown

Hmmmm, obviously people never heard of "It's a Bird It's a Plane It's Superman" on here...

Of course, that came out in 1966.

Hey, it's Marvel. They are known to taking on bad ideas from other companies mostly of DC. Marvel took 15 years to killed off Captain America when DC did it with Superman. There was a Batman musical in a Batman Beyond episode and no one thought seeing that was ridiculous.

[Cyberbabbl]

Originally Posted by TurdFerguson

This looks like a big steaming pile of ____. what the hell is the matter with producers these days? they think the shittest ideas will make them money because its got spiderman or some big star it it like bradjolina

Do you really think that "Spider-Man" has enough of a built-in audience for a Broadway musical? It's entirely different marketing and sensibility than Broadway.

What's marketable here are two things:
1) Julie Taymor
2) U2

So, I must respectfully disagree, and think that the director of one of the most successful shows, both critically and economically, in Broadway history, and the two leading members of one of the longest-running quality rock bands around, does not sound like a "bit steaming pile of" anything other than potential.

[Bloodmage]

Ummm...... oooooookaaaaaayyyyy......

Bono? Really? Is Spidey gonna implore us to raise money for starving kids and then go back to his mansion, take the solid gold elevator up to his room, and fall asleep on his bed of money?

[Fleecey]

As a comics fan and a theatre artist, there are SO many reasons why this project bothers me. This is another example of the corporatization of Broadway, Spider-Man is certainly bizarre fare for musical theatre, and it would be nice to see talented artists like Bono and Taymor doing something original rather than adaptation.

That said, Bono and Julie Taymor do kind of make me think it might not totally suck . . .

[bsmith]

And music by Bono and The Edge - fantastic. I'd see this.

[vbartilucci]

Quoted from The previous article about the musical from earlier in the week

Originally Posted by Ignatius Prime

Has Julie Taymor et al talked about doing a Spider-Man show in the past? Yes. Do I think it may happen at some ill-defined point in the future? Perhaps. Do I believe the release printed by SHN and reposted by Playbill and others is accurate? No. Too much of it does not make sense. Then again, it only doesn't make sense because I actually know what I'm talking about. But, hey, I'm just a guy who works in the theatre for a living. Surely I know less about how it operates than a guy running a comic book news website. Please, Mister Brady, continue to lecture me about how the theatre industry works.

Mr. Prime...your order of humble pie with a side order or Crow Fries is ready...

[LikeaPhoenix]

Wow, this totally came out of the left field! If it's going to be anything like BtVS' Once More, with Feeling, I'm all for it. I wonder how they're going to portray Spidey in action.

[KWillyVox]

Originally Posted by gwangung

On the contrary, if you know Broadway, you WOULD see stuff like this every day.

The wonder is that it hasn't happened sooner.

YOU GO 'I LOVE BROADWAY' GUY

[bsmith]

Originally Posted by astronato

I want a Fantastic Four musical and instead of U2, I want Beck, the Flaming Lips and Frank Black to write the music.

Now THAT sounds awesome, but for a Doom Patrol musical!!