This is one of those shows that I wanted to see primarily just so I can say that I'd seen it. I had to stand in the cancellation line for about an hour, and snatched up a ticket from a "broker" for a hundred bucks. But hey, that's why I go to the big city. It was actually sold out for the entire weekend, so I'm glad I got in.
Readings for this musical began in 2007, and even though it's not set to open until February 7th, it's already achieved historic status for a couple of reasons. For one, the brains behind this one, Julie Taymor (or Julie "Paymore"), well known in theatre circles for THE LION KING and all of its associated spectacle, has already spent an estimated $65 million on this puppy -- the most expensive Broadway show in history. It costs about a million bucks in operating costs a week. Also, SPIDER-MAN (penned musically by U2's Bono and The Edge) ran out of money last year, had to cancel the first originally scheduled previews a couple of times and push back the opening, and there have also been a few broken bones, literally, along the way. The night I saw it one of the female leads, Natalie Mendoza, was out because she had suffered a concussion after being hit in the head by a rope backstage. In Taymor fashion, this show was meant to be a theatrical spectacle, with around 27 flying sequences. The rigging devices for these sequences are similar to the "four point" wire systems that are used for those "eye in the sky" cams you can spot at football games and stuff. They've actually renamed the traditional "Dress Circle" seating area of the Foxwoods theatre the "Flying Circle".
