U2′s Spider-Man Musical Starts Off With A Stumble (Or Five)

Despite the fact that the$60 million production of the U2-penned Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark Broadway musical seemed destined to fail (mainly because it was a $60 million production of a U2-penned Spider-Man  Broadway musical),the premier of it’s first preview show last night was—gasp!—a bit of a disaster, according to Billboard, in that “the production was halted five times, mostly to resolve technical issues with the show’s flying sequences.”

“In one of the first major stunts, lead actor Reeve Carney, who plays Peter Parker/Spider-Man, reportedly had to be freed from an aerial harness as the show came to a stop.

“At the end of the first act, Spider-Man halted abruptly while flying toward the balcony seating and dangled over the audience until crew members had to help him down. A 34-minute intermission followed, and Act II also required a pause that lasted a few minutes.

“The performance was the first public glimpse of the Julie Taymor-directed musical, which was originally set to begin previews last January and is now scheduled to open Jan. 11, 2011. The first preview was delayed two weeks after an actor suffered a stunt-related injury during rehearsals, although no injuries were reportedly suffered during last night’s performance.”

So, despite numerous warnings from Fate itself to call this disaster-to-be off, apparently the show must go on.  And considering the fact that the show is about Spider-Man, features tunes by late-period U2, and can’t seem to find it’s legs after $60 million in expenditures, I’m guessing the show isn’t going to go on for long, so you might want to catch it while you can.

What do you think of a Spider-Man musical?