Spider-Man gets tangled on Broadway

NEW YORK (AP) — Spider-Man’s web has gotten tangled on Broadway.

Several delays and at least two actors who were left helplessly dangling from cables high in the air marred the first preview of the mega-musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

According to published reports, Sunday night’s performance of the reported $65-M show ran over three hours because flying tricks went wrong and the production had to stop at least five times.

Natalie Mendoza, who plays an evil spider, and Reeve Carney, who portrays the comic-book hero, were stuck suspended over the crowd at different times, according to audience members.

Even so, 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.” But the New York Post called the show an “epic flop as the $65-M show’s high-tech gadgetry went completely awry amid a dull score and baffling script.”

The show is the brainchild of Tony Award-winning director Julie Taymor and U2’s Bono and The Edge, who wrote the music. More than eight years in the making, delays and injuries have plagued the show’s debut. Producers did not immediately return calls for comment Monday.

For Peter Filichia, a theater critic for The Star Ledger in Newark, New Jersey, the long delays getting the project to the stage and the problems now that it is finally being performed bode poorly.

“This show essentially has two strikes against it to begin with,” said Filichia, who, like other critics, will wait to see the show once it is ready for review. “We’ve seen a lot of hitters hit home runs after having two strikes on them, so it could happen here as well. But, gee, I see a fast ball coming right down the middle.”

There is plenty of time to try to fix the show. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will open Jan. 11, meaning producers have more than a month of previews.