Post by santtu on Sept 12, 2011 10:11:33 GMT -5
I saw the first version in February which was very confusing as far as the book was concerned. So after the hiatus and the publicity around the changes in the production and creative team I thought I'd like to see if the show is now any better. I had tried to see this a couple of times on my earlier visits to NYC but every time there was only restricted view seats left. And now I had booked a ticket for Sat evening but the hurricane Irene closed Broadway for Sat and Sun, so again it seemed like I wouldn't see the show. But I managed to get my ticket changed for Wed matinee.
The story is now easier to follow, with Arachne almost completely cut from the story. She's still there, but she has pretty much no relevance whatsoever to the story now. In Act II she only appears once on stage (well, actually above the stage
) The show is now all about Peter Parker becoming the Spider Man and Norman Osborne turning into the Green Goblin. And of course there's still the sub-plot of Parker and Mary Jane. And the story is no longer told by this Geek Chorus, they're gone.
The new and revised book has made some of the events clearer now - for example now there's a clear explenation who are The Sinister Six (Carnage, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, The Lizard, Swarm and Swiss Miss) and where did they come from. The relationship between Parker and Mary Jane is less rushed now. But is the show any better? Well, the characters still leave you cold, you don't really care for them any more than you did before and the story is easier to follow and what seemed to be like two shows put into one is now more solid and coherent. But better? Well, maybe a little.
Since the show is now about Parker/Spidey and the Green Goblin, they've changed the running order of the scenes a bit, what used to close the Act I (the battle of Spidey and GG) is now second to last scene of Act II. There's also a new song for the Goblin, "A Freak like me needs company" which was a nice addition, though it is very different from the rest of the score with its dance beat arrangement, but I actually liked this number the best.
Visually the show hasn't changed much. And I was glad to see they kept the original choreography of "Boy falls from the sky" in which the male dancers dance in Spidey costumes behind Peter Parker.
The show is still a spectacle but unfortunately still not a masterpiece.
The story is now easier to follow, with Arachne almost completely cut from the story. She's still there, but she has pretty much no relevance whatsoever to the story now. In Act II she only appears once on stage (well, actually above the stage
) The show is now all about Peter Parker becoming the Spider Man and Norman Osborne turning into the Green Goblin. And of course there's still the sub-plot of Parker and Mary Jane. And the story is no longer told by this Geek Chorus, they're gone.The new and revised book has made some of the events clearer now - for example now there's a clear explenation who are The Sinister Six (Carnage, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, The Lizard, Swarm and Swiss Miss) and where did they come from. The relationship between Parker and Mary Jane is less rushed now. But is the show any better? Well, the characters still leave you cold, you don't really care for them any more than you did before and the story is easier to follow and what seemed to be like two shows put into one is now more solid and coherent. But better? Well, maybe a little.
Since the show is now about Parker/Spidey and the Green Goblin, they've changed the running order of the scenes a bit, what used to close the Act I (the battle of Spidey and GG) is now second to last scene of Act II. There's also a new song for the Goblin, "A Freak like me needs company" which was a nice addition, though it is very different from the rest of the score with its dance beat arrangement, but I actually liked this number the best.
Visually the show hasn't changed much. And I was glad to see they kept the original choreography of "Boy falls from the sky" in which the male dancers dance in Spidey costumes behind Peter Parker.
The show is still a spectacle but unfortunately still not a masterpiece.
