Critics slam Spider-Man on Broadway

Feb 9, 2011, 11:51 GMT

New York - Spider-Man may have the powers to defeat super- villains of every shape and size. But he may have met his match in the ranks of US theatre critics.

Reviewers have slammed the Spider-Man musical on Broadway, saying that it is not only the most expensive show to ever open in the New York theatre district, but also among the worst.

Critics from The New York Times, Variety and the Los Angeles Times were just three of the reviewers who castigated the 65-million- production that has been beset by delays, injuries and cast defections.

'Spider-Man is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway; it may also rank among the worst,' said Ben Brantley of The New York Times.

Writing in the Los Angeles Times, critic Charles McNulty, said the 'accident-prone production, featuring an erratic score by U2's Bono and The Edge, is a teetering colossus that can't find its bearings as a circus spectacle or as a rock musical.'

The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney said the 'underwhelming score is the least of the show's worries. What really sinks it is the borderline incoherence of its storytelling.

'For rubberneckers eager to see what the fuss is about, there may be enough noisy spectacle here to convince them they've seen something. But when this amount of time and money is tossed at a show, even demanding theatergoers should be awed, not bored.'

Peter Marks of the Washington Post said that 8-year-old boys 'might be able to key on the Cirque du Soleil-style stunts on wires and video-game graphic elements, and probably not worry too much that Spider-Man is a tangle of disjointed concepts, scenes and musical sequences that suggests its more appropriate home would be off a highway in Orlando.'

The most damning criticism came from Ben Brantley of The New York Times.

'The sheer ineptitude of this show 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 dollars look so cheap?' to 'How long before I'm out of here?' Spider-Man is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway; it may also rank among the worst.'

Producers of the show said the reviews were uncalled for since the opening of the show has now been pushed back for a fourth time to March 15 after playing in previews for over a month.

'The PILE-ON by the critics was ridiculous and uncalled for,' said the show's spokesman Rick Miramontez in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. 'Their actions are unprecedented and UNCOOL!'