Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark hires some musical help

By Sean O'Neal | February 22, 2011 | 4:24pm

Aux Features Music

Yesterday producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark—which is a fun little Broadway show about a comic-book hero; you should check it out!—acted swiftly to deny rumors that the much-derided musical was bringing in a “co-director,” ostensibly as a voice of reason to pull a cackling Julie Taymor away from her giant tub of aerial harnesses. Such a move would suggest a lack of confidence in something they already believe is just shy of perfect, no matter what the uncool have to say about it. The truth is Spider-Man has merely hired veteran musical supervisor and conductor Paul Bogaev in an attempt to significantly improve the show’s score, with Bogaev working with U2’s Bono and The Edge on refining the performances of current songs and even adding some new numbers that the duo is said to be currently writing. (Because you just can’t predict when inspiration will hit.)

Bogaev has done this sort of thing before, collaborating with Phil Collins on Tarzan and Elton John on Aida, as well as working as musical director on the similarly technically complex Starlight Express, back when “technically complex” just meant people wore roller skates. But he’s rarely done it on this sort of timeline: Despite giving the music a complete overhaul and even adding new songs, plus those earlier reports that the show was consulting with Spider-Man comics writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa about revising the storyline, show spokesman Rick Miramontez insists that Turn Off The Dark will still meet its March 15 opening date. It’s like they say: Theater is a living thing—it grows, it evolves, and too many people would freak out if you just killed it and dumped it in an alleyway somewhere.