NYT Slams Spider-Man Musical

The New York Times' Ben Brantley has finally reviewed Spider-Man and yeeowtch, it isn't pretty.

The sheer ineptitude of this show, inspired by the Spider-Man comic books, loses its shock value early. After 15 or 20 minutes, the central question you keep asking yourself is likely to change from “How can $65 million look so cheap?” to “How long before I’m out of here?” Directed by Julie Taymor, who wrote the show’s book with Glen Berger, and featuring songs by U2’s Bono and the Edge, “Spider-Man” is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway; it may also rank among the worst.

The Times and other major papers typically don't review Broadway shows until the end of their preview periods so that readers will see the final version being written about. But with the endless delays in an official opening date for Spider-Man, the Times finally gave up.

(Tipped by JMG reader Bill)