Reimagined "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" Returns to Broadway

The entanglements and complications surrounding Broadway's most expensive and ambitious show seem to be unending and are now infamous. There is no need to recount them here yet again. When Julie Taymor left the show amid all kinds of unconfirmed rumours, none of which have yet been verified, it faced its greatest challenge to date. Taymor was the real force behind the creativity of the show. Bought on by Bono and the Edge early on as a condition to their signing on, she was writer, visionary, director, almost everything rolled into one. Some wondered whether her leaving spelled the final curtain call.

But "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" is proving as resilient as a weed. Yes, that metaphor is hardly flattering. However, we have all had that battle with the weed that just won't go away. And "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" just won't go away. Why? Because Bono and the Edge are involved. That stick-to-it-ness is an entrenched personality trait in all the boys that make up U2. No project that they are passionate about will derail permanently. Equally true is the fact that no project they are passionate about will be released on time. In view of that, the multiple delays are no real surprise. The whole reason being that these boys are perfectionists. If they don't love every detail, it won't be released until they do.

This month "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" reopened previews at the Foxwoods Theatre on May 12th, 2011. It is an entirely different show- reimagined, they call it. A new writer was brought on board. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa joined Glen Berger to rip apart the storyline as was and create a new one that brings greater emphasis to the Peter Parker/ Mary Jane relationship. Also, Taymor's invention Arachne was stripped or minimized, giving the Green Goblin a whole hour more in the show. Even the music has been revamped, rewritten, and rerecorded. There aren't many reviews of the reimagined "Spider-Man" out there yet, but those involved in it seem very hopeful and excited about the changes.

You can save up to 35 percent on tickets by using the codes sent via email from the official website for the performances between now and June 13, 2011. Here's hoping this resilient weed of a show will finally blossom into a prize-winning bloom more than worth all the trouble. It's a bloom I'd like to see someday.