Thursday, March 28, 2024

“Spider Man” on Broadway: Taymor Has No Deal Yet, “Arachne” Got “Bumped”

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And more: “Spider Man,” which I’ve defended right along on Broadway, is having bigger problems than ever. Creator Julie Taymor still has no deal to leave the show, even though she’s not working on it right now. No one knows why the producers don’t have a deal, since they wanted to get her out so fast. What else: they seem to have fired Taymor’s choreographer, Daniel Ezralow, whose work everyone liked. The word is he’ll be replaced by a young guy with no Broadway credits. Meanwhile. TV Carpio, who’s been playing Arachne, is out for two weeks. I’ve been told she actually hurt herself at the March 16th matinee, getting “bumped” backstage during the matinee by Spider Man. Her publicist Adam Kersh tells me she’s ok, doesn’t need a neck brace, but is taking precautions.

That’s not what happened to her predecessor, Natalie Mendoza, at the very first performance last November. Mendoza actually got a concussion. Now America Olivo, who succeeded Mendoza, will fill in for Carpio. Yes, today is March 22, 2011 and this show first started performances on November 28, 2010. Since that time, the mid east has broken out into civil wars, Japan has had earthquakes and tsunamis, and Justin Bieber has had a hair cut.

A little more: I was told last week that the major script revisions are following pretty much what I’ve suggested all along: stop the first act at the point of a cliffhanger, pick up after intermission with more of the first act, combine in elements of the second act. Also, reduce Arachne’s time and move her into the second act. We’ll see what happens.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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