Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Spider-Man Rep Denies Co-Director Rumors As Lahr Piles On
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 21, 2011
Modified Feb 21, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 21, 2011
Modified Feb 21, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Yesterday the NY Post's Michael Riedel reported that Spider-Man: Turn Off the Darkdirector Julie Taymor would be forced to share the shuddering wheel of the $65 million musical. Sources told Riedel that Julie Taymor is "exhausted" with the production, and producers are looking to bring on a co-director. But the report was quickly quashed by a spokesperson for the musical, who told Playbill, "The production has not brought anyone on and the original creative team remains firmly in place, with Julie Taymor at the helm." Note that the statement did not say anything about future plans, so stay tuned. In the meantime, there's another fun negative review from a major critic!
The New Yorker's John Lahr has his turn this week, in a review so entertaining we think the magazine is kind of crazy for not putting it behind the paywall. To be fair, the review isn't all bad; Lahr acknowledges that Taymor "has a dynamic, painterly sense of space; she can marshal all the sensual elements of movement, light, and perspective into amazing stage pictures." But where she runs into trouble is when she forgets to tell a story (because she doesn't know how.) "In The Lion King, Taymor had strong producers to oversee her and a solid-gold piece of Disney business art, from whose plot she could not veer. Here she has neither. The result is a triumph of narrative indulgence over theatrical expertise." But here's our favorite part:
"Spider-Man" has inadvertently pointed the way toward a sensational new window of commercial opportunity: the musical of human sacrifice. True, the broken feet, broken wrists, broken ribs, concussions, and internal bleeding already suffered by members of the show’s acrobatic team are not the ultimate sacrifice, but the time is surely not far off when Broadway’s dream of “making a killing” will literally come true. Think of it as bearbaiting for the twenty-first century. Instead of wasting taxpayers’ money on social programs for prisoners, immigrants, and the aged, we can dispose of those at risk in the name of entertainment. The participants would, of course, pass along to their heirs a percentage of the adjusted box-office gross, which, even after taxes, would allow them to die with dignity.
Read the whole thing here; it's much more fun than the show itself, and it's worth noting that a year's subscription to The New Yorker costs about $250 less than what the magazine paid for Lahr's ticket.
Asked by the New York Observer why The New Yorker decided to review the production before the oft-postponed opening night, Lahr explained that his boss, David Remnick, had solicited the review, and added, "I felt that once the Times had reviewed it—and these 'rules' were invented by the Times to serve the Times—then it was up for grabs."
Tagged
broadway
critics
john lahr
julie taymor
spider man musical
spider man turn off the dark
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
Will Barnes and Noble in the East Village spell doom for smaller shops? It's complicated.
Independent booksellers are grappling with whether the big-box chain is a threat or an ally in the fight against Amazon.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 16, 2026
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
Arts & Entertainment
Can eligible NYC singles find love with 30 minutes and some really spicy food?
We went to the Spiciest Supper Club singles night to take the temperature of New York City's dating scene.
By
Elizabeth Shwe
and
James Ramsay
How the NYC Marathon has changed in the last 50 years
By
Hannah Frishberg
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
By
Sonia Rao
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .