Broadway's Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark Postpones Opening to Summer, Announces New Team Members

The producers of Broadway's Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark have officially postponed the opening night of the mega-musical for the fifth time, announcing new plans to open sometime in early summer following "significant and exciting revisions." Two new creative team members, director Philip William McKinley (The Boy from Oz) and previously-mentioned writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, have also officially been announced for the show, assisting original director and co-author Julie Taymor, who has other commitments which will keep her from running the day-to-day creation of the show. Performances of Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark are currently expected to continue as scheduled. 

In a joint statement, show producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris said: "Julie Taymor is not leaving the creative team. Her vision has been at the heart of this production since its inception and will continue to be so. Julie's previous commitments mean that past March 15th, she cannot work the 24/7 necessary to make the changes in the production in order to be ready for our opening. We cannot exaggerate how technically difficult it is to make such changes to a show of this complexity, so it's with great pride that we announce that Phil McKinley is joining the creative team. Phil is hugely experienced with productions of this scale and is exactly what Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark needs right now.”

Rockers Bono and The Edge, who write the show's score, added: "Julie is a truly gifted and imaginative director. This is an epic ride, and the standing ovations we have seen from the preview audiences have confirmed our absolute faith in the project. We are listening and learning and, as a result, we have a couple of new songs we are very very excited about putting into the mix. All of us on the creative team are committed to taking Spider-Man to the next level. We are confident it will reach its full potential and when it does, it will open."

Musical consultant Paul Bogaev (who worked on rock-based Broadway shows like Aida and Tarzan) and sound designer Peter Hylenski have also joined the creative team, improving the musical arrangements and sound quality of the musical, according to the release.

Featuring Reeve Carney as Peter Parker, Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane Watson, Patrick Page as the Green Goblin/Norman Osborn and T.V. Carpio as Arachne, Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark began performances at the Foxwoods Theatre on November 28, 2010.