LimeWire Music Blog

We’ve been hearing about Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark for months now. For those non-U2 fans in the audience, here’s the deal: It’s a Spiderman musical, and Bono wrote the score. But, in these times of economic bloodletting, will the show ever reach the stage? As Variety reported, the show’s producers got together in New York yesterday to figure out what to do about its “ballooning budget.” You see, things have long been touch and go for the production, which took a break several months back, due to “cash-flow problems.” Preparations for the musical only resumed in October, and the show was said to be planning to begin previews February 25. Here’s the rub: While Spider-Man’s estimated budget is now $52 million, with some estimating that producers still need to raise something like $25 million. In short, this is a musical that could take years to get out of the red — that is, if it lasts that long.

Luckily, for Bono buffs, the post-meeting news is a bit rosier. Michael Riedel of the New York Post, who puts the show’s budget at a slightly more modest $45 million, has heard tell that the show will go up in July, with previews in June. Although the date is later — and nowhere near in time for the Tony Awards cutoff — it does seem a bit more realistic. Spiderman has always done well in the movie theaters as a summer blockbuster, so why not do the same on Broadway?