PLAYBILL THEATRE WEEK IN REVIEW, June 30-July 6: Plucking a Page from Spider-Man, New Pages from Arthur Laurents

By Robert Simonson
06 Jul 2012

Patrick Page
Patrick Page

The Fourth of July week was a quiet one in the American theatre. Nevermind those throngs of people swarming around Times Square, the crowds flowing in and out of the theatres each evening, the bizarre cartoon characters harassing passersby at Broadway and 42nd Street into taking pictures with their fuzzy selves. News-wise, the Crossroads of the World might as well have been Tumbleweed Junction. Producers can't be bothered to generate stories when they're sunning themselves, Pimm's Cup in hand, out in Montauk.

A few things did come to pass, however. Beyond accidents and lawsuits and sell-out crowds, there have few constants in the life of the Broadway phenom knows as Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark. One of them has been Patrick Page, the actor who created the roles of Norman Osborn/Green Goblin and has been in the show since the first of its many, many previews.

Page has also been one of the show's few critical bright spots. Critics largely liked his performance. He also netted the musical the one award its ever likely to see, winning the Actors' Equity Foundation's annual Richard Seff Award on June 12

Page will play his final performance on Aug. 5. His replacement has yet to be announced.

The veteran actor will next be seen in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of Cyrano De Bergerac. Page will play the role of Comte de Guiche.

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A run of 32 previews and 450 performances is nothing to sneeze at. That is, until you compare it to 16 previews and 5,123 performances.

The latter figures belong to the original Broadway staging of the musical Rent. The former will be the final tally for the Off-Broadway revival of Rent, which, it was announced July 3, will play its final performance at New World Stages Sept. 9.

So, what next? A Rent revival Off-Off-Broadway?

 Continued...