On Broadway, bad press doesn’t necessarily spell failure, and the struggling “Spider-Man” musical is still luring tourists and theater goers into seats as it deals with persistent technical problems. The ambitious, high-tech $65 million musical the most expensive Broadway show ever has endured four delays in its opening and four injuries to its cast. And Broadway, perhaps more than any other entertainment genre, has a history of overcoming bad reviews and turning profits for tourist-friendly, big-budget shows. The production’s opening night, (previously set for January 11, 2011) is still set to Monday, February 7. Seth Gelblum, an entertainment lawyer who represents the show’s director and co-creator Julie Taymor, as well as three major financiers, said investors were not jittery and predicted the key audience, tourists, would not be turned off. Several shows have been canceled as a result. Among the new rules enacted are a requirement to have a second stagehand and stage manager to back up all of the show’s 38 stunts involving harnesses and ropes. Still, some industry watchers predict the demise of “Spider-Man,” including New York Post columnist Michael Riedel, who said that even when the acrobatics work, the show suffers from a lack of leadership, a confusing story and bad music.

This bullied science-geek suddenly endowed with incredible powers soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility as villains put both his physical strength and strength of character to the test. “And it seems that … all of the different employees, all of the regulatory agencies are, and the theater itself, seem to be confident that all the necessary conditions have been met to make sure that today’s show goes forward safely.” State officials and producers agreed to a long list of safety improvements Wednesday in the wake of Monday night’s accident. Before the show could resume Thursday, producers had to give final confirmation to the state Department of Labor that they had enacted certain safety measures aimed at avoiding any further mishaps. In front of a horrified audience, lead aerialist Chris Tierney, 31, plummeted 30 feet during the show’s climax. “We’re sold out until Jan. 2,” a ticket seller told a steady stream of buyers.

Some folks had tickets already but wanted to check that the evening’s show would go on as planned, since both Wednesday’s matinee and evening performance had been canceled. “If they are not comfortable and haven’t got everything in place, we have agreed that they wouldn’t go, and so apparently that is the position that they are in right now.” As of now, “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” preview performances will proceed as planned on Thursday (December 23), and the official Broadway opening date has been pushed back from January 11 to February 7. “They gave us a number to call later, just to make sure,” said Mike Foux, of Allentown, Pa. An avid Spider-Man fan since childhood, he had come to New York to see the show with his wife, Patti, and 20-year-old daughter, Jessie, for his birthday. “I was thinking, with four accidents happening, there must be some truly amazing stunts,” Foux said. That’s what worried another ticketholder, Victoria Shaw-Locknar, who was attending Thursday’s show with her daughters Ruby, 11, and Ava, 9. I think the world press has focused on ‘Spider-Man’ because the show is on the brink of absolute catastrophe every night.” Riedel believes the show will be closed and even if not, he sees a hard road ahead to make money given its huge cost. While many Broadway shows expect to recoup their initial investment within the first 12 months, “Spider-Man” would take several years, making it a riskier proposition than most.

“Accidents are horrible but they happen on every show,” Page told the Associated Press . “I’ve been at this a long time, and everyone else has. I have faith that it’ll go forward,” he said. Labor officials worked at the Foxwoods Theatre on Wednesday with producers of the show, saying that a second person will be required to check whether harnesses are properly put in place. He has been recovering from broken ribs and internal bleeding at NYC’s Bellevue Hospital. During Monday’s performance, 31-year-old Christopher Tierney fell at least 20 feet and was hospitalized. Earlier, Broadway actor Adam Pascal called for the prosecution of the show’s director, Julie Taymor, because of a series of recent mishaps, including Tierney’s injury.

Wednesday’s preview performances of the Spider-Man Broadway musical were called off after a stunt man injured his back falling 30ft into a stage pit. The much-anticipated production, teaming “Lion King” creator Julie Taymor with songwriters Bono and The Edge of U2, has had a rocky route to Broadway. The official opening night has been pushed back to 7 February after a series of glitches and injuries. Tierney’s brother, Patrick Tierney, said his brother was undergoing back surgery Wednesday, was expected to be released from the hospital Friday or Saturday and would complete is recovery at home in New Hampshire. The show – which features 38 separate moves in which actors are put in harnesses to take to the air – has been beset with problems, including a lead actor suffering injury during a preview show. The announcement that Wednesday night’s sold-out performance wouldn’t take place came just three hours before showtime at the Foxwoods Theatre. Wednesday’s matinee performance had been canceled earlier. As unhappy as they are with the “Spider-Man” production, he credits it with getting his brother “in the best shape of his life” before the accident. “At this point we are satisfied they have put in place the appropriate controls,” said Maureen Cox, director of safety and health for the state Department of Labor. It has a 41-member cast, 18 orchestra members and has several complicated sets. The musical has 38 separate moves in which actors are put in harnesses to go up in the air. Initially, only the Wednesday matinee performance was postponed after the incident, and performances were to resume Wednesday evening.

If he didn’t land on his feet, he wouldn’t be with us,” said Patrick, 24, of Plaistow, N.H. “He has a strong body and an amazing attitude.” Patrick said Christopher’s injury has been very hard on the family. “I have spoken with him, and he’s in as good spirits as he can be,” Patrick said. OSHA has investigated other theater incidents in New York City, but none in recent history appeared to be related to incidents that occurred during the actual production, a spokesman said. “We’re also making sure that the actors and the stagehands know that if everything is not right, they can say, `We’re not going to go,’” Cox said. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our Spider-Man family,” Taymor told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement on Tuesday.

Associated Press NEW YORK — Spider-Man’s web has gotten tangled on Broadway. Several delays and at least two actors who were left helplessly dangling from cables high in the air marred the first preview of the mega-musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” According to published reports, Sunday night’s performance of the reported $65 million show ran over three hours because flying tricks went wrong and the production had to stop at least five times. And though Spidey’s debut on Broadway wasn’t exactly spectacular , that doesn’t mean U2 bandmates Bono and The Edge have anything but high praise for the mesh of comics and rock music found in “Turn Off The Dark.” In an interview conducted last week, the musicians elaborated on the connections between rock music and graphic novels, and the various ways they’re describing the ambitious collaboration between themselves and “Turn Off The Dark” director Julie Taymor. The Broadway League said that single performance grossed $200,605 from a sold-out crowd of 1,928. The majority of the publicity the musical has gotten stems from its constant delays, the bloated budget, and even a death! At various points, overhead stage wires dropped on the audience, scenery appeared on stage missing pieces and the show’s star was even left swaying helplessly over them midair during what was supposed to be the climatic end to the first act. But all of those “difficulties” have not been worked out yet as the show reportedly had to be stopped five times on Sunday during stunt work that had actors suspended in the air with harnesses. But the ambitious, technically complex production began 24 minutes late, and then went downhill from there. Not only was this the first preview performance, but it was the cast and crews first run through of the show. As in, they didn’t rehearse!

“The show is like a graphic novel, but a three-dimensional one,” he said. Specifically, each of the producers said in separate interviews, Mr. Jungwirth asked if they had productions in the works that might be a future fit for the Foxwoods Theater and asked them to keep the 1,932-seat theater in mind as they developed or optioned productions for Broadway. The spider is the radioactive arachnid that bites Peter Parker, giving the photographer his superhuman Spider-Man powers.

“I’m calling it a pop-up, pop-art opera… because I’m pretentious. Each of the producers noted that Mr. Jungwirth was reaching out as a newcomer to running a major theater, which was customary. Parker’s love interest, Mary Jane, was supposed to be saved from atop the Chrysler Building. Each also said that Mr. Jungwirth, when asked about the potential longevity of “Spider-Man,” did not offer any hard predictions and referred to the producers’ hopes for a healthy run. The leaders of “Spider-Man,” like the lead producer, Michael Cohl, and the director, Julie Taymor, have been straightforward in acknowledging that the show is a gamble given its high costs and technical complexity. Instead, Spider-Man got stuck in midair and swung back and forth over the crowd as three stagehands leaped up and down futilely trying to grab onto one of his feet to haul him back to earth. To me, it seems as if they’ve been throwing a lot of bad money after good money,” said Filichia, who has charted other theatrical embarrassments in his book “Broadway Musicals: The Biggest Hit and the Biggest Flop of the Season — 1959 to 2009.” “I can’t say that this strikes me as something that was wise, but history is littered with fools who just had to continue even when they knew that they were doomed, hoping that as long as they were in the race some miracle could happen that could save them. There may be a miracle that does save them,” he said.

Here comes the Rain again! Rain: A Tribute to The Beatles will make its Broadway debut this fall with a limited 12-week run of performances at the Neil Simon Theatre at 250 West 52nd Street. A special preview performance will begin Tuesday, October 19. The official opening will commence Tuesday,…

Via ARTISTdirect.com

Lead producer Michael Cohl announced today that SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark will begin preview performances on Broadway on Sunday, November 14, 2010, at 3 p.m., with Opening Night set for Tuesday evening, December 21. See below for a first look at the set! Flying and choreography rehearsals for select cast members began July 19, and the full company will begin rehearsals Aug. 16.

The Tonys Need a New Home

5:00 p.m. | Updated Where would you hold next year’s 65th annual Tony Awards? The ceremony’s usual home, Radio City Music Hall, has a sustained booking for June 2011, so the Tonys are in the hunt for a new space for the awards show next season.

There’s a lot of real estate in Manhattan, but not many venues with Radio City’s seating capacity (roughly 6,000 people) and acoustics, not to mention its prime Midtown location. Tonys officials have been assessing sites including Madison Square Garden (on the large side, with more than 18,000 seats) and the Beacon Theater (3,000 seats) on the Upper West Side. The Apollo Theater (1,500 seats) has apparently been eyed too, as well as other venues in Harlem and far uptown.

The search is believed to be far along, and now that the 2010 Tonys wrapped up on Sunday, the work will likely intensify.

The Tonys have been held at Radio City since 1997, except for one year, 1999, when they were held at Broadway’s Gershwin Theater — the current home of the musical “Wicked.” Any Broadway show would have to shut down for at least several days, and probably more, to load sets in and out and provide time for rehearsals. Word on the Rialto was that the Broadway Theater and the Marriott Marquis Theater have also been discussed as possible venues for 2011. Another spot under consideration is the United Palace Theater, a 3,000-seat venue at 175th Street and Broadway also known as “the Rev. Ike’s church” since it was bought in 1969 by the Rev. Frederick J. Eikerenkoetter II and is still used for church services.

Inquiries to officials who oversee the Tony Awards drew this statement on Tuesday from Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of two industry groups, the American Theater Wing and the Broadway League, that produces the ceremony.

“We have been aware for some time that Radio City Music Hall is not available to us for the 2011 Tony Awards and we are currently exploring a dozen or so possibilities throughout Manhattan for next year’s ceremony,” the statement read.

So ArtsBeat readers, what are your nominees? And is it fair to leave Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island out of the running? (All Tony-eligible shows are performed in Broadway theaters, which are in Manhattan.) My living room isn’t big enough, but I’ll nominate the 1,800-seat Delacorte Theater outdoors in Central Park — a tight fit, yes, but if it’s good enough for Shakespeare and the occasional raccoon, it’s good enough for the Tonys.

On Tuesday afternoon a spokesperson for Madison Square Garden said the venue would not be available at the time because it is undergoing renovation.