Spider-man embarks on three week hiatus

The Broadway premiere of Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark began its previously announced three week hiatus on 19 Apr 2011.

The hiatus is to allow times for technical rehearsals for the new version of the show which will be revealed when performances resume on 12 May 2011.

The press release from the producers reads "The revamping of Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark represents an unprecedented and historic moment on Broadway. The new version takes the best aspects of the original, adds great new songs by Bono and The Edge, tells the story from a different angle, and will offer an even more thrilling audience experience."

It was recently announced that Philip William McKinley (who directed Hugh Jackman in his Tony Award-winning performance in 'The Boy From Oz'), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and Chase Brock have joined the creative team to help implement new staging, assist with book rewrites, and create additional choreography, respectively.

The expanded creative team also includes musical consultant Paul Bogaev ('Tarzan,' 'Bombay Dreams,' 'Aida,' 'Sunset Boulevard') and sound designer Peter Hylenski ('Elf,' 'The Scottsboro Boys,' 'Rock of Ages,' 'Shrek').

Lead producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris said, in a joint statement, "We salute the artists and performers who have made this show an exciting reality, and we look forward to getting to the finish line with the wonderful new version of Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark that is now in the works, with Phil McKinley at the helm."

Due to the new schedule, director and co-book writer Julie Taymor no longer continues in her day-to-day duties with the production.

Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark began previews at the Foxwoods Theatre on 28 Nov 2011, where it is now scheduled to open on 14 Jun 2011. This is the fifth opening date to have been announced for Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark. The musical, which is estimated to cost $65 million, has suffered from delays since it was first announced in Feb 2009. The previously announced opening nights were 18 Feb 2010, 21 Dec 2010, 11 Jan 2011, 7 Feb 2011 and 15 Mar 2011.

Drawing from more than 40 years of Marvel comic books for inspiration, Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark follows the story of teenager Peter Parker, whose unremarkable life is turned upside-down—literally — when he's bitten by a genetically altered spider and wakes up the next morning clinging to his bedroom ceiling. This bullied science-geek—suddenly endowed with astonishing powers — soon learns, however, that with great power comes great responsibility as villains test not only his physical strength but also his strength of character.

Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark features music and lyrics by 22-time Grammy Award-winners Bono and The Edge of U2, and a book by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger ('Underneath The Lintel').

The complete cast of Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark stars Reeve Carney as 'Peter Parker/Spider-Man,' Tony Award-nominee Jennifer Damiano as 'Mary Jane Watson' and Patrick Page as 'Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin.'

The cast also features T.V. Carpio, Michael Mulheren, Ken Marks, Isabel Keating, Jeb Brown, 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, Craig Henningsen, 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.

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) and Julie Taymor (Mask Design).

Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark is being produced on Broadway by Michael Cohl, Jeremiah J. Harris, Land Line Productions, Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Billy and Fernando Rovzar Diez Barroso, Jeffrey B. Hecktman, Omneity Entertainment/Richard G. Weinberg, Nederlander Organization/James L. Nederlander, Terry Allen Kramer, S2BN Entertainment, Jam Theatricals, the Mayerson/Gould/Hauser/Tysoe Group, and Patricia Lambrecht, by association with Marvel Entertainment.