New Spider-Man Musical Brings the Action to Broadway

After much media attention and the longest preview period in Broadway history, the epic new musical "Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark" brings action and rock n' roll to the stage. With a cast of characters that literally soar through the theater, 'Spider-Man' will keep both kids and adults on the edge of their seats.  

Let's begin at the end: The soaring OMG! climax battle of good vs. evil between Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Reeve Carney) and Dr. Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin (Patrick Page) is a bona fide audience gasp-a-thon unlike anything ever beheld on Broadway before.

Inevitable? Oh my, yes. Archenemies going at it full-tilt above the heads of dumb-struck kids and adults who have been glued to their colliding storylines for roughly two-and-a-half hours.

Officially, according to the comic-strip inspired set onstage, the clash of superhero and fanatical mutant takes place atop the Chrysler Building -- a subtle reminder that even at its epic moment, this is a show set in New York, the City that Never Sleeps. And I guarantee, the excitement level is so intense, catching your breath as you leave the theater (only steps away from Times Square), will be a challenge, no matter what your age. 

Still, sensational aerial maneuvers are only one aspect of the $70 million musical that was media fodder during early previews last November, mostly due to creative and technical problems as well as cast injuries, resulted in the longest preview period (182 previews) in Broadway history. 

A three-week hiatus in which the show received major revamping has, I am happy to report, led to redemption for what insiders are calling Spider-Man 2.0. Not only are safety worries a thing of the past (ghoulish theatergoers in search of stage carnage need not apply), but the production has emerged as a crowd-pleasing winner.

A key reason for the show's overall appeal, however, has not changed: It's the cast. Topping the list are the main players: Reeve Carney in the title role is wonderful and totally believable as a high school science geek-turned-superhero. Equally impressive is Jennifer Damiano as his love interest, Mary Jane Watson, an aspiring actress whose unhappy home life is tempered by her budding relationship with Peter. Meanwhile, T.V. Carpio is stunning as the mythical girl-turned-spider Arachne, whose legend is fleshed out in the show's overlapping opening numbers, "The Myth of Arachne" and "Behold and Wonder."

But it's the dual role of Osborn/Green Goblin, rapturously embodied by Patrick Page that kids in the audience gravitate to almost as much as they do to Parker/Spiderman.

Green Goblin's Kid Appeal

"I'm having a great time," says Page, whose resume is filled with shows with family allure, like Disney's Beauty and the Beast, in which he played Lumiere, and The Lion King, where he portrayed Scar, Mustafa's duplicitous uncle. And if you reach back into your holiday grab bag of iconic musical memories, it was Page who starred as another green villain, Dr. Seuss' The Grinch, on Broadway.

According to the veteran actor, it's no accident his resumé boasts a significant number of kid-friendly productions since "I have sought out opportunities to do shows that one can bring one's children to."

He also appreciates kid feedback. "Adults are often swayed by what others say or by reviews, and they will lie -- but you get an honest reaction from children and I like that a lot."

As for Page's other stage credits, they veer toward the classical with a serious emphasis on Shakespeare, whom he says he fell in love with when he was only three years old. "It's the bedrock of what I do," he notes, adding that Shakespearean characters he's played can influence his role in large-scale family-oriented musicals.

"In musicals, the dialogue tends to be somewhat underwritten to allow for the musical numbers. So it's the actor's responsibility to fill in the gaps and the back story," he says, citing the Bard as a frequent go-to source. And, in the case of Osborn, he found Macbeth to be a helpful parallel. "Both Osborn and Macbeth are essentially good men who are blind to the depth of their narcissism and hunger for power and, as a result, go on to become psychotic," he says.