Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Natalie Mendoza, center, as Arachne, left “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” in December after being injured. Others in the show have been hurt.With the announcement that Julie Taymor is stepping aside as the director of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” Broadway is buzzing about what changes are ahead for the $65 million show.
On Wednesday, the producers announced plans to overhaul the production over the next three months, including shutting down the show for two to three weeks in midspring. Philip William McKinley, who directed the Hugh Jackman musical “The Boy From Oz” in 2003, was hired to replace Ms. Taymor, and the playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa will help rewrite the show. The composers, Bono and the Edge, of U2, plan to write two new songs. Reviews of the show have been mostly negative, yet it’s been a hit at the box office.
Patrick Healy writes that the lead producers, Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris, want “a rollicking spectacle, a Cirque du Soleil show with a script, that would regularly sell out the Foxwoods Theater.” What would you change about the show to make that happen? What needs to be added or subtracted from the score or the book? How would you redesign the sets and costumes? Or is the show beyond repair? Share your thoughts here.