THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ON THE PREVIEWING "SPIDERMAN"

So much attention has been focused on "SPIDER-MAN-TURN OFF THE DARK" since it went into rehersal last August, and the problems it has run into since going into it's never-ending preview period that many of the country's major theatre critics have already weighed in with their reviews. It was supposed to have it's official opening around Christmas. That got pushed back to January,then February, and now [tenetivly] March 15th. I have no idea what shape this large, ambitious, and noisy musical was in when it first previewed back on November 28th, but based on the preview I attended on Thursday evening it might be a good idea if it never opened at all.
I suppose that director Julie Taymor deserves high marks for ambition. After all she was able to take a mediocre show like "The Lion King" and turn it in to a magical theatre experience,but I doubt that she will be able to repeat the miracle with this one.
The main trouble is that the book and score are so inept, the sets so appalingly ugly, and for the most part performances that would not satisfy a second rate stock company. Even the much talked about flying sequences [ done on much too visible wires] seem blandly routine after the first 15 minutes.
I suppose that the only way that this show could ever work would be to take the whole kit and caboodle, toss it into the trash heap and start all over again. As of now there is so much wrong with it that it is probably unfixable.
It would be nice to to say that this is an "almost but not quite" because it is apparent that alot of hard work has gone into it, but as it now stands"SPIDER-MAN TURN OFF THE DARK" is on track to become the biggest mega-bomb of all time, and at 65 million dollars a mighty expensive one.
AT THE FOXWOODS THEATRE 213 WEST 42nd STREET N. Y. C.