Spiderman The Musical… Featuring U2
So we’re about a year away from the Broadway debut of the Spider-Man musical featuring music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge. It looks like the musical itself will feature much of the cast and crew of 2007′s smash hit Across the Universe. Rumors have director Julie Taymor tapped for the Broadway endeavor, and Jim Sturgess with Evan Rachel Wood in the leading roles of Peter Parker and Mary Jane respectively.
Clearly, this will go one of two ways, though I’ve not the slightest inclination as to which. Taymor did a brilliant job with Across the Universe, in selecting just the right songs from a massive catalogue to tell a well thought out and linear narrative. Bono and The Edge have had their ups and downs with regards to hits over the past few decades. All the pieces are there to make something incredible. All the hype and heightened expectations are there to make something dreadful too.
It all begs the question, how deep into the nerdery are the two living legends? I don’t recall seeing them at Comicon last year… We can all hope they don’t botch any story consistencies between the comic book pages and stage, but the press release quotes don’t have me too confident.
Spider-Man’s battles will hurtle the audience through an origin story both recognizable and unexpected—yielding new characters as well as familiar faces—until a final surprising confrontation casts a startling new light on this hero’s journey.
It will be interesting to see the direction of the project; whether it will go for a more tongue-in-cheek presentation like a Spamalot, Wicked or Xanadu, or if would actually attempt to present itself as a serious drama, like Across the Universe did.
Perhaps the bigger question is: what would drive two of the most successful musicians in history, off the heels of a new album, to spend their time on a Broadway play destined to be the content of future trivia questions? Money? Curiosity? Press hype? You tell me.
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