Bono's Spider-Man musical set to be Broadway's hero
PROJECT: Bono and The Edge wrote the ?25m musical
Bono and The Edge are hoping their Broadway version of Spider-Man can fight the Broadway slump in the Big Apple.
The €25m musical, based on the Marvel comic book hero, is expected to open in spring. The script has been penned by the Irish rockers and has already generated a huge amount of interest.
The musical will take up residency in the Hilton Theatre in early January after Young Frankenstein finishes its run.
Flopped
Young Frankenstein is one of 15 shows expected to end in the next six weeks. Despite offering discounted tickets, most shows on Broadway have been playing to half-empty theatres.
Micah Hollingsworth, general manager of the Hilton, the theatre where the Pirate Queen flopped, said Broadway was "hurting".
"Every industry is suffering and we're no exception. A lot of shows stay open for Thanksgiving and Christmas and then run out of steam. This year there are more than normal closing."
However, he has hope for Spider-Man. "From what I hear, it's an ambitious show and won't start for some time, so it's timing may not be so bad after all," he said.
Bono has promised that the show will be "something the likes of which no one has seen or heard".
Bono said the show's music will take influences from punk rock and opera.
Hallucinogenic
"It should be a hallucinogenic experience for theatre-goers," he promised of the musical, which will be, reportedly, the most expensive made for Broadway.
The Pirate Queen cost €9m to make but closed after just three months, and is thought to have lost some €5m. The stakes are even higher for Spider-Man.
However, the show's agent, Adrian Bryan-Brown, says he is confident the show will do well when it begins in spring.
"Broadway is the number one reason why tourists come to New York. Visitor numbers are down but all the expectations are that the industry will pick up. Talk of a Broadway crash is over the top," he said.
Details of the cast and production of Spider-Man are expected to be released early next year. However, Evan Rachel Wood, the former girlfriend of goth rocker Marilyn Manson, is being tipped for the role of Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man's girlfriend. Actor Jim Sturgess is expected to land the title role.
- Jane Last
