Spider-Man Down!

So they have shut down the previews of the musical "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark." Who didn't see this coming?

This was the latest "Most Expensive Musical in Broadway History." It's production was suspended before it even had its first preview. It was figured that it would have to have something like five years of sellouts to break even. Its out-of-town previews were plagued with accidents and technical nightmares.

Sure with such a confluence of talent, Bono, Julie Taymor, et al, you might expect to have something spectacular, but somehow it just never seemed to gel. Perhaps it was overambitious. It seems that everything today, especially when it's an adaptation of a comic book superhero, has to be bigger, grander, and groundbreaking in it's scope and interpretation of the source material. But that is a big risk.

Motion pictures made the same mistake. Each Batman movie got bigger and grander until the collapsed under their own weight. It was then up to the smaller pictures of the lesser-know n comics properties, like Blade, The Mask, and Barb Wire, to show how a comic book movie could be successful.

On Broadway a smaller-budget musical "It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman" was a success in 1966. I was adapted into a TV movie in 1975...



But the risk there is that the small scale will inappropriately understate the material. Movies like "Captain America" and the Cathy Lee Gifford "Wonder Woman" showed us that...




But big budget or small, traditional or groundbreaking, whether on stage or screen, there must be a solid story and engaging characters. Through all the hype, sound, and fury surrounding "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark," nobody accused the show of having either.

Some Thoughts About the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2010

The shong from Memphis is a fabulous Broadway musical number...just like every other fabulous Broadway musical number. It kind of made me think I was watching Family Guy, which has a lot of fabulous Broadway musical numbers.

The guy playing Jerry Lee Lewis in "Million Dollar Quartet" has totally got the moves of the Killer down. From what I saw here and on the Tony awards, though,makes me wonder if this is a musical play or a tribute concert.

Crystal Shawanda's Native American/County/Pop fusion fascinates me.

The U.S. has become a cultural colony of Japan. There were appearances by Hello Kitty, Takashi Murakami, Power Rangers Samurai, and Pikachu, and the NYPD Marching Band played the theme to Space Cruiser Yamato.

Those dancing penguins are cute!

HAAPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Soime thoughts about the Tony Awards this year....

Does Sean Hays remind me of Jon Cryer, or does Jon Cryer remind me of Sean Hays, especially when Jon is doing something "gay" on "Two and a Half Men?"

Daniel Radcliffe and Katie Holmes looked like Frodo and Arwen in "The New Adventures of Middle Earth" on the CW Network.

It's good to see my old Stuyvesant High School classmate, Lucy Liu back in town. I wonder if she made it to the last couple of reunions we've had that I missed?

I am constantly wondering if I am missing some of the gay in-jokes.

Kelsey Grammer in "La Cage Aux Folles" looks like Tony Curtis.

Almost every nominee is a well-known movie actor.

Catherine Zeta Jones is one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in teh history of women, but "Send in the Clowns" always depresses me.

The Jewish chick from "Glee" is frickin' awesome!

Miley Cyrus is finally old enough to be up late enough to be on "The Late Show."

Superhero movie actors nominated for awards:
Kelsey Grammar - Beast "X-Men 3"
Alfred Molina - Dr. Octopus "Spider-Man 3"
Scarlet Johansen - Black Widow "Iron Man 2"
Liev Schreiber - Sabertooth "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"
Christopher Walken - "Batman Returns"
Rosemary Harrris - Aunt May, "Spider-Man 1, 2, 3"
...and all of them were in superhero movie sequels.

When I tuned in, Green Day was opening the show. I have not really been keeping up with trends on Breadway like I used to, but I remember whn it was in such a state that having a modern rock band at the R=Tony;'s would be a sign that they were desperate. But perhaps its a sign that Boradway is not more accepoting of a greater variety of musical forms that ever before.

After the musical numbers from "Million Dollar Quartet" and Memphis" I was really in a mood to hear more "birth of rock & roll" music in a movie. So I watched "Great Balls of Fire."

Brilliant, just brilliant, having Sean Hays come out in the Spider-Man costume. Between that, Rosemary Harris, and Alfred Molina, who needs a $42 million musical?

Nothing thrills and excites the soul in quite the way a well done Broadway musical number does.