Thirteen of director Julie Taymor's 27 flying sequences have already been inspected, but the state must approve each sequence before it can be used in the production, which is scheduled to begin previews Nov. 28 prior to an official opening Jan. 11, 2011.
As previously reported, two actors were injured in demonstrations of the show's flying techniques: One actor broke both his wrists, while the other broke both his feet.
Director Taymor and lead producer Michael Cohl have said that all flying sequences used in the eagerly awaited production will be safe for both the audience and the performers.
Directed by Taymor, the cast will be headed by Reeve Carney as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Next to Normal Tony nominee Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane Watson and Broadway veteran Patrick Page as Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin.
London's Daily Mail recently reported that film actor Matthew James Thomas will be the alternate Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The British-born actor, according to the London paper, will play the role twice a week. Reeve Carney will star in the production six times a week. No official announcement about the double casting has been made. They will be joined by Natalie Mendoza, Michael Mulheren, Ken Marks, Isabel Keating, Jeb Brown, T.V. Carpio, Mat Devine, Gideon Glick, Jonathan Schwartz, Matthew James Thomas, Laura Beth Wells, Matt Caplan, Dwayne Clark, Luther Creek, Gerald Avery, Collin Baja, Marcus Bellamy, Emmanuel Brown, Erin Elliott, Dana Marie Ingraham, Ayo Janeen Jackson, Heather Lang, Ari Loeb, Natalie Lomonte, Kevin Loomis, Kristin Martin, Jodi McFadden, Kristen Oei, America Olivo, Jennifer Perry, Kyle Post, Brandon Rubendall, Sean Samuels, Dollar Tan, and Christopher Tierney.
Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark features a book by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger, and new music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge.
"Drawing from more than 40 years of Marvel comic books for inspiration," Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, according to press notes, "spins a new take on the mythic tale of Peter Parker, a teenager whose unremarkable life in Queens is turned upside-down—literally—when he's bitten by a genetically-altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to the ceiling. Bullied by his classmates and tortured by an unrelenting crush on next-door-neighbor Mary Jane Watson, this science geek discovers he has suddenly been endowed with astonishing powers. He soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility. Maligned by the media, buffeted by financial woes, and stretched thin by the expectations of the world-at-large, Peter now must struggle to navigate the perilous and peculiar demands of being a web-slinging superhero."
The creative team includes Daniel Ezralow (choreography), George Tsypin (scenic design), Academy Award winner Eiko Ishioka (costume design), Tony Award winner Donald Holder (lighting design), Jonathan Deans (sound design), Kyle Cooper (projection design), Julie Taymor (mask design), Campbell Young Associates (hair design), Judy Chin (makeup design), Scott Rogers (aerial design), Jaque Paquin (aerial rigging design), David Campbell (orchestrations & arrangements), Teese Gohl (musical supervision) and Kimberly Grigsby (music director).
Producers are Michael Cohl, Jeremiah J. Harris, Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Land Line Productions, by association with Marvel Entertainment.
Tickets are priced $67.50-$135 for weekday performances and $67.50-$140 for weekend performances.
Visit www.SpiderManOnBroadway.com for more information.
