Spiderman News - Part 2

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As others have noted in this thread, after hearing Bono sing the song, then the actor, it was - and I'm sorry to say this - a let down. One reason for U2's success is Bono's voice. It has a great tone and he gives each song such passion. In contrast, the actor sang through the song as if he was reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb". There was no passion, no power. And that worried me. If Bono in rehearsal mode sounds that much better than the actor, how good will this play be.

......Actually, based on only the "60 Minutes" piece, I would say the talent IS to blame. Also, the actor playing Peter is not "Broadway's best". He's in a band and was basically chosen for the part - but I don't think he's considered amongst the "elite". Furthermore, I will also say that even a great singer might be wrong for a given song. For example, I think Mary Blige is a great singer, but I abhored what she did to "One" - even with U2's blessing.

Can someone briefly fill me in (or should I look up this info in the last thread?) What is the story on this actor and his casting? They hand picked him? Seems strange to hand over a multimillion dollar show to a novice actor in a small band who can't sing????
Yes, some actors may be wrong for specific songs, that is why they hold auditions.....err most of the time.

The circumstances surrounding this show get stranger and stranger the more I read.
 
Can someone briefly fill me in (or should I look up this info in the last thread?) What is the story on this actor and his casting? They hand picked him? Seems strange to hand over a multimillion dollar show to a novice actor in a small band who can't sing????
Yes, some actors may be wrong for specific songs, that is why they hold auditions.....err most of the time.

The circumstances surrounding this show get stranger and stranger the more I read.

According to his wikipedia article:

Taymor first discovered Reeve at one of his band's shows, after which she asked him to audition for her film The Tempest. The Tempest will be released by the end of 2010.

I don't think it's that he can't sing, it's more that he's not experienced in musical theatre. Also, when comparing him side by side to Bono singing the songs from the show, he doesn't have Bono's vocal gravitas - but then again, who does?
 
Yeah, the side by side stuff was eye-opening. When Bono sings the songs, they sound strong and powerful, when the Carney guys sings them, he sounds like a total wimp, and the songs sound cliche.

Who knows, it might be a rock vs. broadway singing style type of thing.
I like rock voices that are "untrained" as opposed to voices that have been sculpted to fit into a certain genre.

However, Carney is a rock guy, but geez...he sounds like he's whispering.

Here's two thoughts about this...I hope that U2 does a version of the soundtrack of their own eventually. In fact, since all of the music and writing will be done, it might be the perfect Rick Rubin project.

That being said, who from the "rock" would would sing the female parts?
 
Does he preach in concert? Yeah, but so do a LOT of other entertainers. And I would tell you that I would have never heard of some of the atrocities occurring on this planet if it weren't for U2.

But it seems people want him to be an entertainer and ONLY an entertainer. How dare Bono think?! He has the audacity to do something more with his life than just write and perform songs!

Last year, I got into a light argument about this with my wife's cousin. She had seen U2 play and said something like "I don't pay to hear him talk about politics." I calmly said that that's what Bono does, and has always done. Then I siad, and here's where it ties to Spiderman..."A rock concert is not a broadway show. It's put on by individuals that have their own thoughts. Even though a giant band like U2 seems corporate and calculated, it's still just four dudes with their own ideas that put on the show."
 
:wave: Not that it's being discussed here anymore, but just thought I'd throw it out there for those who might be considering seeing this show: Billie Joe Armstrong will be joining the cast as St. Jimmy again for 50 more performances beginning Jan 1 through Feb. 27, 2011. If you want the specific performances they are listed here:

Billie Joe Armstrong returns to the cast of American Idiot for 50 performances only as St. Jimmy, starting January 1, 2011 through February 27, 2011.

See list below for specific dates:

January 1 – 2 - Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm & 7:30pm
January 4 – 9 - Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday - Friday @ 8pm, Wednesday @ 2pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm
January 18 – 30 - Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday - Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm & 7:30pm
February 10 – 13 - Thursday - Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm & 7:30pm
February 15 – 27 - Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday - Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm & 7:30pm

Please note that Billie Joe Armstrong will not appear as St. Jimmy from January 11 to January 16 and from February 1 to February 9.

For more information please visit American Idiot – Billie Joe Armstrong returns to the cast as St. Jimmy for 50 performances only!

i got that e-mail as well... i'm sooo going to one of those shows.
 
Can someone briefly fill me in (or should I look up this info in the last thread?) What is the story on this actor and his casting? They hand picked him? Seems strange to hand over a multimillion dollar show to a novice actor in a small band who can't sing????
Yes, some actors may be wrong for specific songs, that is why they hold auditions.....err most of the time.
TV Carpio (who sang in Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe") is a friend of Reeve Carney. About 3 years ago, Carney (i.e., Reeve and his band) were playing a club in New York and Carpio invited Taymor to come see them. Julie was apparently blown away and sent Reeve a script for The Tempest the next day (that I know for sure, as I'm a friend of the family and that's what his mom told me). Carney had been signed by Interscope about a year prior to this, and they (the band includes his brother Zane on lead guitar) had been playing clubs since their teens.

Not long after Reeve got the part in The Tempest, Taymor asked him to come to New York and sing the Spiderman songs as a sort of "presentation" in front of Bono, Edge, the producers and, I would guess, potential investors. Although Reeve was not auditioning for the role, and was not told that he was auditioning, Bono and Edge were apparently knocked out by his performance because he won the part (although it was not publicly announced till several months later).

A few months after Reeve did the "presentation" for the producers, et al, I ran into him and he told me that immediately after he sang at that presentation, Bono came up to him and, with a smile, said "We'll be seeing you again." Reeve also handed me his ipod and let me listen to a recording of Jim Sturgess singing one of the songs (I only listened for about 15 seconds and I don't know what song it was, but it was probably "Boy Falls..."). So I guess Sturgess had auditioned for the part.

Reeve has told Julie Taymor (and this has been quoted in interviews) that he is "not an actor." He's a musician/singer. My own feeling is that he was cast primarily because of the full package he brings to the table. He's not going to sing the songs like Bono (thankfully), he's going to sing them like Reeve. He brings tremendous honesty and passion to his performances. Bono and Julie Taymor have both remarked that Reeve has charisma. If I didn't know Reeve, I would cynically think "of course they're saying that, they've cast him and they've got to say good things about him." But I've seen Reeve perform many times over the years and it's absolutely true, he has a real charisma (not to mention the fact that he and Zane both have chops as musicians), and there's no doubt in my mind that that played into him getting the role. He's a good guy, too.

I'm happy for him. That's all.

YouTube - Carney - She's so heavy
 
Did you get the impression that the people complaining during the delays (or after the show) were not aware that "preview" can mean "rehearsal"?

Or were these seasoned theater-goers who have been to previews before, and this show just had an unacceptable level of them?

I found it weird to hear of so many complaints when it was basically a rehearsal.
Unfortunately (and Bono pointed this out in an interview long before the preview show), this is the internet age. Whether show-goers know it's a preview show or not, they will still wait 5 minutes while the tech crew fixes something on stage with wires and then go home and tap away on their keyboards about how horrible the show was.
 
They were a paying audience, they have every right to complain about that many delays and problems. It's not like the crew haven't had long enough to work on this. Small issues are one thing, but when your charging people that much money, there's no excuse for that amount of problems.
 
Are you confusing the tech rehearsals with dress?

You can check playbill.com for detailed info, but usually the tech rehearsals are the long and drawn out 6 hour run through rehearsals with lots of stops for the technicians. Dress rehearsals are more coherent and together rehearsals. Preview rehearsals are usually the step after dress rehearsals with a paid audience but before the official opening when all of the paper reviewers come and write about the show….for Spiderman, this is a mute point because everyone is already writing about it.

With Community Theatre, it is much the same, but without previews. The final dress is usually the preview. At the theatre I work at our cast music/dance and blocking rehearsals are about 6 weeks. Set load in is one day, tech rehearsals about 2 or 3 very long days. We have about 3 dress rehearsals and 1 final dress/preview and then opening night.

Too much info probably but thought I would share…….

yep, we would always have the tech rehearsal before the dress rehearsals in front of crew only, and the final dress rehearsal would have an audience (not necessarily paying lol), then opening night...

it's a shame they had all the press in for this preview and didn't wait until they'd ironed out all the difficulties...
 
:wave: Not that it's being discussed here anymore, but just thought I'd throw it out there for those who might be considering seeing this show: Billie Joe Armstrong will be joining the cast as St. Jimmy again for 50 more performances beginning Jan 1 through Feb. 27, 2011. If you want the specific performances they are listed here:

Billie Joe Armstrong returns to the cast of American Idiot for 50 performances only as St. Jimmy, starting January 1, 2011 through February 27, 2011.

See list below for specific dates:

January 1 – 2 - Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm & 7:30pm
January 4 – 9 - Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday - Friday @ 8pm, Wednesday @ 2pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm
January 18 – 30 - Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday - Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm & 7:30pm
February 10 – 13 - Thursday - Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm & 7:30pm
February 15 – 27 - Tuesday @ 7pm, Wednesday - Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm & 7:30pm

Please note that Billie Joe Armstrong will not appear as St. Jimmy from January 11 to January 16 and from February 1 to February 9.

For more information please visit American Idiot – Billie Joe Armstrong returns to the cast as St. Jimmy for 50 performances only!

that will be so awesome!!
 
TV Carpio (who sang in Julie Taymor's "Across the Universe") is a friend of Reeve Carney. About 3 years ago, Carney (i.e., Reeve and his band) were playing a club in New York and Carpio invited Taymor to come see them. Julie was apparently blown away and sent Reeve a script for The Tempest the next day (that I know for sure, as I'm a friend of the family and that's what his mom told me). Carney had been signed by Interscope about a year prior to this, and they (the band includes his brother Zane on lead guitar) had been playing clubs since their teens.

...

Thanks for the background, that was interesting.
 
That clip of Craney doing "She's So Heavy" proved what I had thought. He has a high, soft voice. I'm not saying it's bad or wrong, it's just the sort of voice that would make me flip the radio to another station. I'm sure he's a good guy, but his voice has no stones.
 
Yes, thanks for the info Alan.

Mrex, singers call what you are describing a "belt" . With out getting heavy into vocal classification, it sounds like what every one is saying is that Craney does not have a belt and his vocal weight is lighter and more agile than a darker tenor. Although Bono has a fantastic falsetto, his vocal weight is heavier and darker.......my impression is that Craney's voice is not bad, just different from Bono.....if he indeed has charisma and can perform well, my hope is that he can find his way quite nicely in this show a create a great character. But these days most rock opera performers possess a belt......
 
Yeah, the side by side stuff was eye-opening. When Bono sings the songs, they sound strong and powerful, when the Carney guys sings them, he sounds like a total wimp, and the songs sound cliche.

Who knows, it might be a rock vs. broadway singing style type of thing.
I like rock voices that are "untrained" as opposed to voices that have been sculpted to fit into a certain genre.

However, Carney is a rock guy, but geez...he sounds like he's whispering.

Here's two thoughts about this...I hope that U2 does a version of the soundtrack of their own eventually. In fact, since all of the music and writing will be done, it might be the perfect Rick Rubin project.

That being said, who from the "rock" would would sing the female parts?
These are my thoughts exactly. For me,hearing Bono sing these songs, it was soooo powerful! I´ve no doubt that after they work out all the mistakes and get the show running,it will be awesome,but still lacking this something special. For me,U2-s or Bono´s and Edge´s music is not complete without Bono and Edge singing it.
 
Just to clarify a few things:

1. Going into the first preview I realized there was a very good chance that things would not run very smoothly, but I still wanted to be there anyway. Most Broadway shows have out of town runs first, or transfer from off-Broadway so they've had the opportunity to work out all of the problems prior to previewing on Broadway. We knew this was not the case with Spider-Man.

2. Sarah and I both think Reeve definitely has potential (especially after seeing some of his videos on youtube...Sarah's in love! :love:) Let's face it, he's hot, has a great voice, and major sex appeal! Clearly, we are big U2 fans and adore Bono's voice, so I knew that no matter how awesome Reeve is, I'd want to hear THAT voice that I know and love sing these songs...nothing against Reeve! And honestly, I'm eager to see the show again once everyone is more familiar with the material (and hopefully they will tighten up the book!) That's when I think the music will stand out more.

3. SpideyonBway tweeted this GREAT news for people that don't want to or can't spend the $$ on tickets:

$30 Rush Tix avail each morning at Box Office, 213 W 42 St. Limit 2 per person. Subject to avail; may not be avail for every performance.

4. OFF TOPIC My father is taking my kids to see American Idiot with Billie Joe as St. Jimmy on 1/8 because we heard he is incredible in the part! We were at 1st preview (last row in the balcony) and Sarah was also at opening night because my Dad invested in the show (minimum investor) and received opening night tickets and tickets to the after-party at Roseland Ballroom. They arrived at the exact same time as Green Day, so she walked in with the band...too bad she's not a big fan and wasn't very familiar with their work (while all of her friends were obsessed with them and American Idiot, she was gushing over U2's work and everyone thought she was weird for liking them)! Even though my Father would've likely lost his money had he invested in Spider-Man, I can't help but wish that he did- can you imagine if we were at THAT opening night party!?:ohmy:
 
:wave: I went to see the show tonight. I posted this elsewhere on the forum but it really belongs here. Most of what I wrote everyone already knows, though.
They only had to stop the show once tonight, for less than five minutes. Spiderman was dangling :giggle:

The set was absolutely amazing. I can see why it was so expensive. And all the flying was really well done. They were zooming all over the threatre, pretty fast too. There was an airborne fight scene which was awesome.

Most of the songs were unmistakeably U2-ey. There were several songs besides BFFTS who's lyrics were soooo quintessential Bono :heart:

They played Vertigo at the beginning of one scene and I wasn't the only one I could hear singing along :lol: There were a few other references thrown in too, which was cute.

I think this thing is really going to take off. Compared to what I read of the first night, they seem to really be getting it under control, and the theatre was completely full at least in the section where I was.

I'm glad I got to see it...a perk of living in New York :happy:

Long story short, tonight went far better than what I've heard of the first night. I really think this show is going to go where they wanted it to.

I would love to hear the songs done by the men who wrote them, though...
 
Aaaahh!I wanna see it so badly!I hope that someday these songs are available to listen.
 
I dunno....I dig BFFTS, but I'm not terribly blown away by Rise Above. The swells just don't lift me enough. It may be much better in person, especially if there are cool visuals with it. Unlike BFFTS, however, I can't say I care too much to hear U2 perform this one without a good bit of tweaking.

I'm curious to hear the official soundtrack. I wonder when they'll release it...

I also wonder who the comic book geek of the band is. ;) Edge? He did do the theme riff for "The Batman" cartoon, afterall!
 
Conan is going to have another sneak peak at Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark on tonight's show. Turn on Conan right now and you'll catch it.
 
I also wonder who the comic book geek of the band is. ;) Edge? He did do the theme riff for "The Batman" cartoon, afterall!

He likes stuff like that.

The Edge also did the theme song (and some other music) for the Japanese tv show Godzilla Island.

Unfortunately, all the old Godzilla Island episodes have been pulled from youtube, so I can offer no links.

If you've ever seen an episode, you'd recognize The Edge's unmistakable guitar sound. You'd also recognize why Toho probably pulled them from youtube. :lol: If you thought shows like Transformers and GIJoe were just toy commercials, you ain't seen nothing yet. They don't even come close to Godzilla Island.
 
:wave: I went to see the show tonight. I posted this elsewhere on the forum but it really belongs here. Most of what I wrote everyone already knows, though.


Long story short, tonight went far better than what I've heard of the first night. I really think this show is going to go where they wanted it to.

I would love to hear the songs done by the men who wrote them, though...

That's good to hear, I am going on Saturday night and hopefully things will have smoothed out even further! Looking forward to it... :)
 
I just got back from the third preview of Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark. There was only one major delay which happened in the first act. It was a five to ten minute delay when Spider-Man first flys up to the balcony of the theatre. Visually the musical is stunning. There is more flying in the first act and the video screens are used extensively in the second act. Songs that stood out were:

Bullying by Numbers
Bouncing off the Walls (I believe it was this song where the verses reminded me of the verses of Where Did It All Go Wrong?)
Rise Above
Picture This
Spider-Man Rising
Turn Off The Dark (a very slow number sung by Arachne)
Boy Falls From The Sky

The song where Arachne sings about shoes wasn't that bad. I think someone said it reminded them of GOYB but I didn't get that impression. It would be interesting to hear the other song Bono mentioned that was replaced called "A Freak Like Me".
 
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