Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (Please, Please Turn It Off)

The key theater critics and their employers decided collectively to call Julie Taymor's bluff and review A Musical for the Misbegotten on the occasion of its fourth announced opening date, February 7. The opening had been postponed once more until March 15, but the theater assessment community wisely decided that enough is enough already, that there is a product that people are shelling out big money for, and it is time to review the damn thing. Taymor and her production team had cynically tried to exploit a traditional courtesy of theater, which is that a production isn't reviewed until its "opening night," to indefinitely delay actual professional write-ups of the show's content. That, as much as the series of injuries that has plagued the show, is making me keenly dislike Julie Taymor. Now that the critiques are in, predictably they are not kind. Jonathan Mandell at The Faster Times summarizes the carnage and provides links:

http://thefastertimes.com/newyorktheater/2011/02/08/spider-man-turn-off-the-dark-reviews-a-stinker/

POSTSCRIPT: The Playgoer puts it all in context:

http://playgoer.blogspot.com/2011/02/spidey-your-time-is-up.html