Revamped ‘Spider-Man’ doing better than expected

NEW YORK - The reboot of the “Spider-Man’’ musical on Broadway enjoyed a strong second straight week at the box office, leaving the two lead producers cautiously optimistic about the show’s strength.

“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’’ took in $1.7 million for the week ending Sunday, a little below its $1.9 million potential but well above the $1.2 million the producers have indicated that they need to reach to stay viable.

“So far, so good,’’ said Michael Cohl, who, together with Jeremiah J. Harris, is the lead producer of the $75 million musical that was retooled in April after a fitful launch in November.

The latest numbers, released Monday by The Broadway League, show the comic book musical was the third-highest-grossing show on Broadway after “Wicked’’ ($1.83 million) and “The Lion King’’ ($1.74 million).

It even beat the nine-time Tony Award-winning musical “The Book of Mormon,’’ which took in $1.2 million at a smaller theater.

“Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,’’ which finally opened officially on June 14, also saw its numbers improve over its first week, in which it pulled in nearly $1.28 million over eight shows. Both weeks have had full houses.

Despite the good news, neither Cohl nor Harris was willing to speculate about the show’s future or how long they think it will take to recoup its investment.

The producers said they’ll make any decision in the fall.

Cohl said that last week’s numbers could have been even better without the promotions and discounts that had been promised months ago. He would not say if producers plan any future discounting.

“We have an audience-pleaser,’’ he said. “The audience has responded.’’

Julie Taymor, the Tony Award-winning co-writer and director, was fired in March after delays, accidents, poor audience reaction and money woes turned the musical into a punch line.

Co-book writer Glenn Berger and newly hired playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who has written comic books and for the HBO series “Big Love,’’ toned down the story’s darker themes and expanded the romantic angle between Peter Parker and Mary Jane. The songs, by U2’s Bono and The Edge, were edited.

Reviews by professional critics were still generally poor although they acknowledged improvements over the earlier version of the show.

Harris said the show’s best selling point is making young people excited to go to the theater and having a show that the whole family can enjoy.

“While we’ve gotten all beat-up over how it’s not ‘Next to Normal’ or whatever, not everybody’s in that market,’’ he said, referring to the musical that explores mental illness and its effect on the dynamics of one family.

“Ultimately, it’s up to the audience.’’

AP

한글 관련 기사 [연합]

美 신작뮤지컬 ‘스파이더맨’ 정식 개봉

주연 배우 부상과 감독 교체 등으로 수차례 개봉이 연기됐던 미국 브로드웨이의 신작 뮤지컬 `스파이더맨(Spider-man:Turn Off the Dark)`이 14일 밤(현지시간) 정식 개봉했다.

스파이더맨은 지난해 11월부터 프리뷰 공연을 시작해 브로드웨이 역사상 가장 오래되고 비싼 프리뷰 기간을 거친 것으로 기록됐다.

스파이더맨은 이미 만화와 영화로 제작돼 흥행이 입증된 작품으로 이번 뮤지컬에서는 유투(U2)의 보노와 디 엣지(The Edge)가 음악을 맡아 최근 브로드웨이에서 가장 흥행이 기대되는 신작으로 팬들의 기대를 받아왔다.

사상 최대인 6천500만달러의 제작비가 투입됐으며 스파이더맨이 거미줄을 타고 날아다니는 등 화려하고 역동적인 장면으로 화제가 됐다.

하지만 지난해 배우들이 무대장치에서 떨어져 부상하는가 하면 제작진 내부 갈등으로 감독이 교체되는 아픔을 겪었다.