Director of Spider-Man Musical Leaves Show

It’s unclear whether Broadway legend Julie Taymor quit or was fired.

At this point, the perpetually troubled production of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark would provide us with better entertainment if it never opened. For schadenfreude, tales of the problems at the musical can hardly be beat. Technical difficulties and cast injuries have already delayed the opening of the production five times, and the departure of Taymor, the Tony-winning director who was instrumental in bringing the U2-scored play to Broadway, will reportedly push back opening night another few months. The US$65-million play was supposed to open March 15 but will now likely debut in June, at a cost to producers of US$1.3 million a week. Preview performances of the show have prompted howling bad reviews from critics.