It?s family-friendly.
I respect that creative mastermind Julie Taymor wanted to make something darker and edgier? something with some teeth? but let?s not forget who your audience is. According to new director Philip William McKinley, it now appeals to the ?8-to-88-year market.?
The Geek Chorus is gone.
When talk of making significant cuts to the show first started bubbling up, the Geek Chorus was the first thing to go. It sort of sucks for the actors who played those roles, because yes, inevitably they lost their jobs. But given that the Geek Chorus functioned less as a useful narrative device and more as proxies for Taymor, Bono, and the Edge, they were entirely unnecessary. So farewell, Geek Chorus; we pity you the loss of your jobs, but we?re not exactly sad to see you go.
Aunt May, Uncle Ben, and Mary Jane Watson have been beefed up.
I don?t mean beefed up in the muscle-bound sense; but their roles have been expanded, making them more important to the story. This makes sense, since they?re AUNT MAY, UNCLE BEN, AND MARY JANE.
Arachne has been scaled way down.
This also makes sense, because really, Spider-Man 1.0 probably should have just been called Arachne. The New York Times reports that in a rare statement, Taymor herself has squared with the idea: ?Arachne should not have overpowered that story but only enhanced it,? she wrote in an email. Now, she?s more of a guardian angel figure for Peter, rather than his primary adversary. Also, that bizarre song about the shoes is gone.
The Green Goblin is much less confusing.
Was he dead? Wasn?t he? What the hell was going on? No one knew. Now they do. Instead of dying at the end of the first act and reappearing in a hazy vision in the second, he?s present throughout the entire show. I?m not sure how I feel about him ?cracking wise in a new scene lampooning telephone voice mail,? but hey, at least we know whether he?s alive or dead now.
Christopher Tierney is back.
Tierney, the Spidey stuntman who plummeted 20 feet into a pit below the stage in December, has made a full recovery and is back in the show. I think he may be a little crazy, given that in the aftermath of his accident, it was uncertain whether he?d ever walk again, let alone, fly; but hey, if he loves what he does, more power to him. In fact?
There?s more flying.
I know, I know? weren?t the original eight zillion sequences enough? Apparently not, though hopefully the five new sequences won?t result in too many weird injuries (I hesitate to say ?any injuries,? because, I mean, let?s just keep in mind what show we?re talking about here).
The goal is to use spectacle as a means to support the telling of the story, not to use story as a means to justify the spectacle.
This is the major change that I?m interested in. The big problem with Spider-Man 1.0 was that it looked great, but that no one knew what the hell was going on. Ideally, the overhaul will have not only gotten its story straight, but more importantly, placed the importance of the story over the spectacle, rather than the other way around. Given the previous point about there being more flying sequences, though? well, let?s just say that I can?t wait to hear what people say about this one. Word from Thursday night?s audience is good? which may not actually mean much, but it?s a start.
But what about ?With great power comes great responsibility???
It?s still not there. Or at least, the show?s creative team has declined to comment on the matter. Boo. Ah well; you can?t have everything, I suppose.
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