An Audience Member's Suggestions for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

This past Saturday, I went to see the much-criticized Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York City. Before I talk about the performance, let's get some things clear: "Spider-Man" is in previews, which means it hasn't opened yet, however a preview performance has an audience; also, the show not only has a world-record for most expensive Broadway show ($65 milion - previous record-holder was Shrek: The Musical with a mere $25 million) but it will also be the show with the most preview performances once it opens on March 15th. Preview performances are so a show can ready itself for the critics. Some shows hardly need any time, such as a revival that really doesn't have any script changes; some shows, particularly original musicals or plays, need more previews to ensure the show and its people are at its best for opening night - the night the critics arrive and review.

Many critics, while disgruntled from the multiple extensions to Spider-Man's opening night, are holding off on a review, while others have gone right ahead and told what they think about a premature show. I - being an amateur blogging critic (does anyone even read this?) - was going to review the show, however, after seeing the high-flying spectacle, will do something a little different - I'd like to suggest.

I will try to refrain from suggestions that appear close to critiques, but that may be difficult. Anyways, here they are:

(1) Arachne is an incredible creation/inspiration for the show. She adds dimension and history to the legend of Spider-Man. However, too much Arachne eliminates some crucial Spidey story, particularly the relationship with Uncle Ben and Peter Parker. Ben's death came with indifference, where it should come with sympathy and loss.

(2) Dialogue tweaking is hugely necessary. Often, predictable lines come off (obviously) cliched, even under the control of incredible actors (I saw Matthew James Thomas of the film Billy Elliot as Peter ; Jennifer Damiano, my personal favorite of the Spidey-cast, Tony-nominee of Next to Normal as Mary Jane; and T.V. Carpio of the film Across the Universe as Arachne). Cringe-worthy, yet completely fixable in six weeks.

(3) Clarity. There were moments where actions had no cause, where songs had no segue. The art of the musical is great - I'm not talking as some meat-headed high school jock who doesn't get what a painting means - I'm talking about real blurriness. True confusion. For example, the army scene with Dr. Osbourne... I still haven't a clue what it was about or why it happened.

(4) The truth is, the show is an incredible feat and I can't wait to see it after it opens. Yet, while it achieves so much in spectacle - and I mean probably more than any Broadway show EVER - it lacks in dialgoue, character, and plot. Aristotle said drama - good drama - needs all six elements: Plot, Character, Dialogue, Theme, Spectacle, and Music. Julie, Bono, The Edge and the rest of the cast and crew have blasted through the roof in three of the six (Theme, Spectacle, Music), but the first three (I daresay, the most important) need to make the goosebumps crawl like they do when Spider-Man and Green Goblin fight through mid-air, or when Peter and Mary Jane sing simultaneously against the backdrops of their houses, or when Arachne weaves her web in the show's prologue, or when Peter Parker - clothed in a Spidey jacket - swings in a finale full of realization. I want to feel for the characters more, I want to hear spine-chilling words in those emotional moments, I want action that leads to action, I want more heart.

I apologize if this appears more like a review, but I fully intend to review the show when it opens (or when I see it after it opens).

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Starring Johanny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Sacha Baron Cohen & Jamie Campbell Bower

The themes are revenge and love, the symbols are blood and barber knives, and the motif is a barber chair that sends murder victims down a hatch, crunching on the stones below, only to be used for meat pies sold to the general public. And are we hungry! Tim Burton's film adaptation of the ground-breaking musical that showcased Broadway's darkside, "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," does just as Todd's mechanical chair. We are shot down a hole of music that knocks us senseless, characters so interwoven that we fall for the spell of the unpredictable, and whole lot of blood. With original music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a most intricate composer, and the horrific unusualness of Burton, Sweeney's story unfolds beautifully.

The beauty of blood is shown in the very first scene. As we listen to the introductory music, we watch blood drip and flow through London's underground. London is dark. London is dangerous. With a sailor boy named Anthony (Jamie Campbell Bower), Sweeney (Johnny Depp) arrives after years of imprisonment and is out to kill the man who wrongly accused him, putting him away: Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman). However, before he tries to hack the judge, he meets Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), who owns a shop, selling "the worst pies in London," according to the song. Anthony falls in love with a young girl tucked away in a house. She is Johanna (Jayne Wisener), Todd's daughter and now captive of Turpin. We learn that Turpin wishes to marry the young Johanna, which of course puts pressure on Anthony to rescue her. We are also given other characters who play great roles in the rising of the plot: Toby (Ed Sanders), the boy who begins to work for Mrs. Lovett; Beadle (Timothy Spall), who weasels his way in and out of the streets, working for Turpin; Signor Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), who loses a barber contest to Todd (and later loses a bit more); and the beggar woman (Laura Michelle Kelly), the only character to sense the evil going on in Todd's barber shop.

Every actor and actress sings and performs incredibly well, bringing the musical's usual thrusting melody to a cold whisper. Depp is creepy as he was in many-a-film, and Rickman, Cohen, and the other cast members were are great, however, the real triumph was Helena Bonham Carter's Mrs. Lovett. Her voice is soothing and crisp, while her portrayal was desperately great. The newcomers caught on to Burton's oddities, particularly Jamie Campbell Bower. The usually dull innocence of Anthony was annoying in the stage production (I Netflixed it), but Bower - and I'm sure with the help of Burton - gave the role a wolfish sense, something wild and hungry, yet his voice was high and chilling.

And on top of all this, there was blood. Burton reached back to classic horror films and brought the red stuff streaming out. With every slash of the barber knife, it poured, sprayed, splattered. It looked great, and with significant killings, Burton changed the ways of his blood dripping mechanics. Bloody perfection.

It looked great, sounded great, and felt great. "Sweeney Todd" is at the top this year for it's ability to bring the stage to life on screen.

Grade: A+

Hairspray

Hairspray

Starring Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow & Christopher Walken

When pudgy, happily young Tracy Turnbald (Nikki Blonsky) sings of her yearning to be on the hit TV dance show hosted by Corny Collins (James Marsden), "Hairspray" is on. Set in a 1962 Baltimore where every girl's hair exceeds the height of their boyfriend's head, Turnbald is determined to get on the show, dance her heart out, and win the heart of the boy of her dreams, Link Larkin (Zac Efron). Sidekicked by her corky pal Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes), Tracy skips school one day to try out, but quickly rejected by the evil, stepmother-esque Velma Von Tussle, played devilishly by the new and improved Michelle Pfeiffer. What seems to be a story of a silly girl's dreams turns into a battle of moral and racial prejudices. As the "negro night" of the dance show is canceled, Tracy bans with her friends and with the black community to bring justice to the television station.

With such a tremendous all-star cast, "Hairspray" has no trouble at all pulling in loads of expertise; from new-comers like Blonsky, Efron and Bynes to veterans like Pfeiffer, John Travolta as Tracy's dismaying mother, and Christopher Walken as Tracy's loopy dad the film is highly qualified in the field of acting. Of course Queen Latifah as Motormouth Maybelle acted no different than in most of her other roles, but other than that it was a great and fun cast.

"Hairspray" also has a great way of turning the table on what's to be expected in what seems to be a sugar-coated musical. The message of integrating the black dancers with the white is both beautiful and profound. Storyline conflicts and resolutions are subtle and nicely placed, lined with great music that will have your foot tapping against the seat in front of you.

But recollecting the film, it's hard to see it as being a great film. When thinking of "Dreamgirls," though it lacked in many areas of song placement and plot, the cinematography was stunning, refined, and dead-on. In "Hairspray" it was like watching a Disney Channel movie. With poor angles and not a whole lot of movement which collided badly with the lot of dancing around streets and stages, the film looks, feels and acts poorly, though the movie as it is is fun and very entertaining.

Grade: B+