Mendoza officially departed the production Dec. 30. She had suffered a concussion that occurred during the first preview of the musical when, standing offstage, she was hit on the head by a rope that was holding a piece of the production's equipment. Against doctor's advice, she performed Dec. 1 but was unable to do so at the Dec. 2 performance at the Foxwoods Theatre. She returned to the show Dec. 16 and had not been in the production since Dec. 20, the performance that received worldwide attention when Christopher Tierney, a good friend of Mendoza's, was nearly killed when he fell 30 feet toward the end of the evening.
In a Jan. 3 statement director Julie Taymor said, "T.V. is a superb singer and actress whom I've loved since we worked together on 'Across the Universe.' She brings a unique talent and take on the role of Arachne and is already mesmerizing audiences in the few previews in which she's performed. We are thrilled she is taking over the role."
Lead producer Michael Cohl added, "She is fantastic. When she was covering the role, we kept seeing the crowd leap to its feet as she took her bow. After about the sixth or seventh night, we realized we'd be fools not to give her the part."
Carpio has been a principal cast member in Spider-Man in the role of Miss Arrow. Alice Lee (Spring Awakening) has joined the production to step into the role of Miss Arrow.
Carpio appeared in the Taymor-directed film "Across the Universe" as Prudence. She made her Broadway debut in Rent in 2006. Opening night is scheduled for Feb. 7.
Directed by Taymor, the cast is 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.
They are joined by 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 and Dollar Tan.
Reeve Carney is the front man for the LA-based rock band Carney. Zane Carney (guitar), Jon Epcar (drums) and Aiden Moore (bass), who are also featured in that band, are part of the Spider-Man orchestra.
Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark features a book by 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 comprises 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).
Song titles include "Splash Page," "Behold and Wonder," "Bullying by Numbers," "No More," "D.I.Y. World," "Bouncing Off the Walls," "Rise Above," "Pull the Trigger," "Picture This," "I'll Take Manhattan," "Spider-Man Rising," "Turn Off the Dark," "Walk Away," "Think Again," "Sinistereo," "Deeply Furious," "If the World Should End," "The Boy Falls From the Sky" and "Love Me or Kill Me."
Producers are Michael Cohl & Jeremiah J. Harris, Land Line Productions, Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle/Tony Adams, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Norton Herrick and Herrick Entertainment, Billy Rovzar & Fernando Rovzar Jeffrey B. Hecktman, Omneity Entertainment/Richard G. Weinberg, James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, S2BN Entertainment, Jam Theatricals, The Mayerson/Gould/Hauser/Tysoe Group, Patricia Lambrecht, and Paul McGuinness by arrangement with Marvel Entertainment.
Tickets are priced $67.50-$135 for weekday performances and $67.50-$140 for weekend performances.
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