From the New York Times
January 12, 2010, 12:26 pm
‘Spider-Man’ Musical Will Refund Tickets
By
PATRICK HEALYAfter weeks of complaints from ticket holders, the producers of the Broadway musical “
Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark” announced on Tuesday morning that they will refund tickets through Ticketmaster for preview performances that had been scheduled to start Feb. 25 but are now, as expected, canceled.
In a statement made on Tuesday morning, the producers confirmed that previews will not begin on that date next month, as the actor
Alan Cumming — who is set to play the Green Goblin —
told the Times on Saturday. The producers did not provide new dates for previews or an opening night, saying only that a revised schedule will be announced shortly and that the plan is still to open the show in 2010.
Asked on Tuesday morning about rumors that the show would now begin in the fall, a spokesman for the show repeated that no dates have been confirmed.
Another executive involved with the musical said on Tuesday morning that, contrary to another rumor, the producers have been able to capitalize the show without receiving any money from Disney, which recently acquired Marvel Entertainment, which holds the rights to the “Spider-Man” story. A spokesman for Disney Theatrical Group on Tuesday referred questions about the musical to the production team.
With music by U2’s
Bono and the Edge and direction by
Julie Taymor (“The Lion King”), “Spider-Man” has been marred by delays because an earlier group of producers were unable to raise the capital to produce the show, which is now expected to cost about $50 million, which would make it the most expensive in Broadway history.
The musical’s troubles have unfolded at the same time that the next “Spider-Man” movie
has been descending into disarray, with the news on Monday that director
Sam Raimi and star
Tobey Maguire have been dropped and that the movie franchise will be reworked.
Theater-goers, meanwhile, have been raising concerns on blogs and
Twitter and in e-mail messages to Ticketmaster about false advertising on the part of the “Spider-Man” producers, who continued to advertise and sell tickets — with interest compounding on the ticket revenue — long after it was clear that the show would not start in February.
The lead producer, Michael Cohl, said in early November that the musical would open sometime in 2010 but would not provide details. Because rehearsals were not underway in November or December, the Feb. 25 preview performance start has not been possible for many weeks.
According to the producers’ statement, Ticketmaster will contact ticket holders affected by the delay, and anyone who purchased tickets can request a refund or wait to exchange tickets once a new performance schedule is announced. Ticket holders will receive a full refund, including booking fees, and the producers will pick up the cost of the processing fee (which would not normally be refunded).
