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“Face front, True Believer!” A Blog Entry by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Co-Book Writer)

As I write these words, it’s twelve hours until the first preview of the new, revamped, revised, and otherwise rebooted “SPIDER-MAN Turn Off the Dark.” Last night we had our final dress rehearsal, in front of a few invited guests, the production staff, the marketing team, the front of house staff, the press department, the show’s producers and management team—and a few extremely eager high school students in the balcony. (Possibly from Midtown High, where Peter and MJ go to school, someone joked.) The orchestra seats were covered with tech tables; seats were piled high with electrical equipment, discarded script pages; aisles were crowded with music stands, yards and yards of cable, pieces of scenery that have been cut—you name it. You think, in those last moments, as the lights start to dim, and the pre-show announcement begins, There’s no way we’re going to pull this off. We’ve only had three weeks to remount what is, without a doubt, the most ambitious show in Broadway’s history. Before that, we only had three weeks to rehearse the new material with our tireless, super-star cast—while they were performing “Spidey 1.0” (as folks have begun to refer to it) and while that new material was constantly being rewritten, revised, and (seemingly) endlessly tweaked. With new dialogue, new staging, new musical numbers, new lyrics for existing musical numbers, new costumes, new lights, new flights, new—basically, just a lot of new stuff. You think, We need more time. You think, We’ve done so much, but there’s still so much on the list. You think, How can that magic that only happens in the theatre—how can that possibly happen tonight?  But then the lights dim, and the overture starts, spotlights sweep across the stage, a nervous high school senior named Peter Parker steps out on the stage, and—somehow—the magic does happen. Oh, there are bumps along the way—how could there not be, two hours before that final dress rehearsal we were still putting in big changes—but like our red-and-blue hero, the show takes flight… (And, judging from the high school kids’ response, it soars.) Afterwards, of course, when the house lights come up, more notes are taken. Of course, more adjustments are made and will be made. Big and small, expected and unplanned. Meetings are convened, plans are made for rehearsal the next day. (Today, as I type these words, we’re putting in even more changes.) Then, tonight, in eleven hours now…we’ll be starting our first preview performance, as scheduled. We’re expecting bumps, yes, but also…we’re expecting magic. As Stan Lee, co-creator of the Amazing Spider-man, would say, “Face front, True Believer!” (Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa)

Previews begin May 12th. Opens June 14th.

Lead producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris announced today that SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark has rescheduled its opening night for Tuesday, June 14, 2011. In addition, to allow rehearsal time for the new changes being implemented in the show, performances from Tuesday, April 19th to Wednesday, May 11th have been canceled with preview performances resuming on Thursday, May 12th. This amended schedule will allow the time necessary to execute the plan, which will include revisions to the script.

As a result of the new opening night, the performances on June 12th, June 14th, and both performances on June 15th have been cancelled. Additional shows have been added on June 13th at 7:30 p.m. and June 17th at 2:00 p.m. All ticketholders for the cancelled performances who purchased their tickets through Ticketmaster or at the box office will be offered the option of exchanging or returning their tickets. Ticketholders who purchased through other outlets should contact the point of purchase for further information.

For further details regarding the canceled performances, CLICK HERE

Tune-in alert: CBS double-header!

Be sure to tune-in to CBS’s “The Late Show with David Letterman” this Tuesday, March 1 to see the cast of SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark in its first-ever late night television performance! The appearance will feature stars Reeve Carney, Jennifer Damiano, and T.V. Carpio, debuting the show’s Act I anthem, “Rise Above.”

Earlier that day, Reeve, Jennifer, and T.V. will appear together on CBS’s “The Early Show.”

Check your local listings to ensure you don’t miss a moment!

There's A New Spider In Town

T.V. Carpio’s  first official performance as “Arachne” in SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark is one she will likely remember for the rest of her life.  She emerged from the stage door a star, with a giant bouquet of roses in hand, to meet a crush of news crews and photographers.  Everyone wanted to know what it felt like to land the role and if she had any trepidation in taking it on.  The bouquet was from co-star Reeve Carney.  It turns out T.V. goes way back with Reeve and his super-guitarist brother Zane Carney.

Onstage her character uses her powers of illusion to wreak global havoc, but off stage she is humble and demure. Earlier in the day, she told George Stephanopoulos on “Good Morning America,” “I have a great want to step into some big shoes and do the best I can do to service this piece.” 

Isabel Keating Part 2

In part two of our chat with Isabel Keating, we asked her what the cast does during their downtime at the theatre. She said, “Well, the only time we have downtime is during rehearsal breaks at the theatre. During the show, the only downtime for anyone really is at intermission, and even then that is a quick bathroom break! Usually the breaks are spent talking to each other, discussing current events or family, or (need I say?) SPIDER-MAN Turn Off the Dark.”

We also wanted to get a sense of what kind of shenanigans are going on behind the scenes. “By all means there are pranksters and cut-ups! But not in the usual, run-of-the-mill short-sheeter way. There is a heavy dose of intelligence and talent running around the Foxwoods, therefore a ton of wit. Usually the cut-ups are verbal and get coupled with some way-out physicalization (since we have so many crazy dancer/tumbler/aerialist types in our midst). All kinds of spontaneous dance-jams and word-games break out (Jeb Brown sets the bar quite high with his throw-down challenges in games of all stripes), and Ayo Jackson and I have an ongoing rap jam that has to be seen and heard to be understood.”

Finally, we asked her what the most thrilling part of working on SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark has been. “I have been in seventh heaven throughout technical rehearsals,” she told us. “The coming together of all the work that all of the artists have been doing, the piecing together of sound, lights, sets, projections, LEDs, flying, book, choreography, costumes, make-up, hair, masks: all thrilling! Then when we added our brilliant orchestra and band, that was another thrill. And then the most recent thrill was adding the ultimate ingredient: the audience!"

Isabel Keating Part 1

We chatted with SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark cast member (and Tony Award-nominee!) Isabel Keating to get some backstage dish.  She told us that the view from the stage can be as thrilling as the view from the seats, especially when she witnesses particularly interesting audience reactions.  According to Keating, when Spider-Man took his debut flight at a recent performance, “a vocal child in the house shouted out, ‘Daddy!!!  SPIDER-MAN!!!!’ at the top of his lungs.  The audience laughed and roared, and it made me smile throughout the scene.”  She also has noticed that some folks find the experience an emotional one, “I’ve heard a few sniffles here and there in response to the enormity of the images and the story.  That is very gratifying.”
 
She also described the excitement that takes place at the stage door each night: “Since our first preview, audiences have crowded around the stage door in such supportive attendance!  It is so great to see all of the tiny ones in their Spidey costumes, and the parents and young-at-heart who appreciate the artistry and talent in the show.  We love to say hello and know who those people are who came to see us that day. We feel everyone out there in the audience, but to put faces and names to it is all the better.”