Spider-Man: Turn Off the Venom! | Playbill

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Inside Track Spider-Man: Turn Off the Venom! This week, the sh*t hit the proverbial fan when the producers of the $65 million spectacular Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark announced that its fearless captain, Julie Taymor, would step aside after 100 previews and six opening night delays.

The show has had its fair share of over-chronicled missteps (insert tired "tangled web" metaphor here) by every news outlet in the country, and Playbill is no different. Like it or not, this is what people are talking about. This is about as good as backstage drama gets on Broadway, and we know a thing or two about drama!

As the headlines became more and more dramatic (Spidey Falls From the Sky! Spider-Man Needs More Money! Spiders Everwhere Protest Musical!) the public's response became increasingly bi-polar. As I eyed our Facebook page, I noticed the comments from our friends were coming faster and more furious, running the gamut from a call for Taymor's Tonys back to cheers for Team Spidey.

Say what you will, people are talking...and that's a good thing for Broadway (and apparently for the show, which has been grossing well over $1 million/week).

Here's some of what our Facebook friends have to say about the great Spidey debate. What do you think?

"I REALLY want this show to be successful. We so enjoyed it."

"You need someone that can really advise you what needs to be done. Hope you can save the show. You need someone to be honest ."

"People are going to see a train wreck. It honestly wasn't doing ridiculously well until they almost killed one of their actors. Soon after that, it beat Wicked in the box office. That's not Broadway."

"Saw the show 3 weeks ago .. can't wait until I'm back in NYC over the summer to get tickets again. Really enjoyed it."

"I saw it last week, feb 18th and loved it very much: everything worked perfectly not a single delay, the sets are incredible, the actors wonderful, the costumes faboulous: stop shitting a great show that will be a huge success!!"

"I saw the show back in December. It was visually captivating, but had no heart."

"Why are there so many Spiderman bashers out there? Do you have a personal vendettas against popular entertainment? Do you prefer your Broadway musicals to be obscure? Perhaps you would like the name to be changed to Boredway. Personally, I applaud the producers and creators of Spiderman for trying to make the best product possible for the millions who so clearly want to enjoy this show."

"By all accounts this show would have been better off under developed in Disney World or some other amusement park befor being brought to Broadway."

"Saw the show last night and loved every minute of it. People should stop being so bitter and nasty. The actors are working their tails off and if for nothing more, be positive for them. I for one would go back to see this spectacle again and again."

"I've honestly been against this since it was announced 2 YEARS AGO!!! I've been ranting and venting about this all day long, and I can't stand it anymore. This is not art. This is not Broadway."

"So tired of hearing about this show. TOTAL MADNESS!!"

"Well, I will swim upstream here. I think Julie Taymor is a genius & I admire her for her unconventional visionary artistry. I am truly saddened by how all this has been unfolding, and how people are throwing her under the bus. "

"I see flop on the horizon. Sorry, Julie. Face reality. I think "Lion King" was your broadway masterpiece. Don't make you career go down the drain over "Spiderman". You're too talented forr that."

 
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