Rocky Start For U2 Musical
First performance of U2 scored production beset by technical difficulties
U2’s Spiderman musical opened with a special preview performance at the weekend which was beset by technical problems.
Rolling Stone reports that the $65m production suffered from several difficulties, and at one point the lead actor was left dangling above the audience for several minutes.
The show, which ran for more than three hours, began 24 minutes late. The end of the show's first act saw the evening's most awkward delay. Carney was supposed to soar over the audience toward a balcony across the theatre, but stopped after travelling just a few yards — and stayed there, suspended above the front rows. Crew members managed to catch him by the foot, and the stage manager called intermission. The intermission lasted for more than half an hour, causing the audience to clap in unison.
Nonetheless, The New York Times wrote that most of the show's stunts "went off without a hitch, with children and some adults squealing in delight." The New York Post was less charitable in its report, calling the show an "epic flop as the $65 million show's high-tech gadgetry went completely awry amid a dull score and baffling script."
U2 wrote the score for the musical and many of the songs that appear in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark are expected to appear on the band’s next studio album.