Spider-Man: Taymor steps aside, changes announced, opening delayed.

Major changes have been announced for the creative team for the Broadway premiere of Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark, which has been in previews at the Foxwoods Theatre since 28 Nov 2011.

The producers have confirmed the recent gossip that Julie Taymor, the show's director and creative force, as now stepped down and will no longer "continue on in her day-to-day duties with the production."

However, according to much of the recent 'gossip' the producers have grown tired of Taymor's seeming inability to sign off the musical's creative aspects and have decided that she is to be allowed no more time to experiment.

In a joint statement by Producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris said, "Julie Taymor is not leaving the creative team. Her vision has been at the heart of this production since its inception and will continue to be so. Julie's previous commitments mean that past March 15th, she cannot work the 24/7 necessary to make the changes in the production in order to be ready for our opening."

The statement goes on to read, "We cannot exaggerate how technically difficult it is to make such changes to a show of this complexity, so it's with great pride that we announce that Phil McKinley is joining the creative team. Phil is hugely experienced with productions of this scale and is exactly what Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark needs right now."

On Broadway McKinley has directed "The Boy From Oz," and as also directed 'Ringling Bros.' and 'Barnum & Bailey Circus.'

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, who has recently made revisions to the 1966 Charles Strouse-Lee Adams musical, "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" (rumored to be returning to Broadway), has authored many Spider-Man scripts for Marvel comics, his plays include "Good Boys and True" and "The Muckle Man."

Bono and The Edge added, "Julie is a truly gifted and imaginative director. This is an epic ride, and the standing ovations we have seen from the preview audiences have confirmed our absolute faith in the project. We are listening and learning and, as a result, we have a couple of new songs we are very very excited about putting into the mix. All of us on the creative team are committed to taking Spider-Man to the next level. We are confident it will reach its full potential and when it does, it will open."

The expanded creative team also includes musical consultant Paul Bogaev (Tarzan, Bombay Dreams, Aida, Sunset Boulevard) and sound designer Peter Hylenski (Elf, Scottsboro Boys, Rock of Ages, Shrek), both of whom have already been working on improving the musical arrangements and sound quality (respectively) over the past few weeks.

It has also been announced that the musical will not open on 15 Mar 2011, despite reassurances from producer Michael Cohl back in January that he picked the 15 Mar 2011 date "to ensure that this will be the final postponement." The opening has now been rescheduled to an evening in early summer, 2011.

This is the fifth time Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark's opening date has been delayed. 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.

The show has been blighted by a series of injuries. During rehearsals two actors suffered serious injuries; one breaking both wrists, while another broke both feet. Actress Natalie Mendoza, who played 'Arachne.' was injured during the musical's first preview on 28 Nov 2010 when she was struck on the head by a piece of rope that was holding production equipment. Though the actor initially returned to the show, she later withdrew from the production.

During the preview performance on 20 Dec 2010, Christopher W. Tierney sustaining severe injuries after he "fell several feet from a platform approximately seven minutes before the end of the performance." The actor's injuries includeed an "hairline skull fracture, four broken ribs, a bruised lung, internal bleeding and cracks in three lumbar vertebrae." Though initially in intensive care, Tierney has since been released from hospital and is well on his way to a full recovery.

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.