Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History by Glen Berger Page B
Authors: Glen Berger
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revelation that
Every heart that bleeds
Will color your world red
And the sorrow in the night
Will be the blue you cannot shed . . .
The “red” and the “blue” refer to the colors of the Spider-Man costume, which was about to make its big reveal. In other words, the iconic Spider-Man costume wasn’t just “a costume”—it was the outward display of his suffering. Peter was literally going to wear his pain. But would any—and I mean any —of that come across to an audience? Would the soaring music and Julie’s staging compensate for any lyrical woolliness? These were good questions. We didn’t ask them.
As a standard Actors’ Equity–approved staged reading, only twenty-nine hours of rehearsal time were allotted. But several of the actors had worked with Julie before, and that was going to make her job easier. Six of the actors were recent alumni of Across the Universe . Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood, the movie’s leads, would be Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. Their mutual friend T. V. Carpio, who played heartsick lesbian Prudence and sang “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” in the movie, would be “The Girl Geek.” And David Chandler, Julie’s companion from Oberlin College days, had agreed to play the Green Goblin.
So confidentiality statements were signed, scripts were distributed, and the sweltering summer days were spent in high spirits. Evan Rachel Wood’s flowing-haired hippie look in Across the Universe had evolved into Vogue magazine–ready black club dresses and black nail polish now that she was dating Goth-rocker Marilyn Manson. But her alabaster cool melted when she heard her new Edge and Bono–penned songs. “No way! That’s my favorite!”she shrieked, when Bono confirmed they sampled a sound from David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes.” She was already staking a claim to be Mary Jane “for the real one.” She didn’t want anyone else debuting these songs.
Jim Sturgess, meanwhile, seemed like he knew his career was about to break big once Universe opened in September. Whether he’d commit to performing Peter on Broadway was an open question. But he was obviously having a fine time that week in New York. During one raucous session while learning “Boy Falls From the Sky,” Jim suddenly found himself with Bono for a backup singer. The two of them shared one microphone as they belted the final lines of the song: “To give you must yourself receive / And when you do / . . . Then belieeeeve!”
The band whomped a final chord, and the rehearsal room erupted into whistles and applause. Suddenly aware of the hyper-sincerity of the lyric, Bono slipped into a Green Goblin drawl to catcall his own song. “Bravo, bravo. ‘Belieeeeeeve.’ Boy, that’s pow’r’ful stuff, ain’t it?!” The line went straight into the script.
Feeling confident, we did a run-through of the show the night before the reading. Hoo, was it lousy. Shrill, amateurish, embarrassing dreck. But that always happened with first run-throughs. Almost always. Anyone up for a drink? Or five?
• • •
Only eighty seats could fit in the biggest of the rented rooms, and on July 16 they were filled with investors and representatives from Marvel. The actors filed in. Julie got the nod from an ashen-faced David Garfinkle. She stood in front of the audience with winsome anxiousness.
“So this is the thing about Spider-Man . It’s a very visual piece. Look how gorgeous it looks.”
She mockingly swept her hand behind her at this drop-ceilinged room cluttered with performers and sound equipment.
“Glen’s going to read the stage directions, but there will be places where that just won’t work, and you’ll just have to go with the flow.”
Julie flashed me a “well-here-goes-nothing” smile. I leaned into the mike.
“Okay, then. Act One.”
The opening musical notes jolted the audience to attention. The Geeks’ first scene was actually entertaining. Jim’s and Evan’s charisma filled
Every heart that bleeds
Will color your world red
And the sorrow in the night
Will be the blue you cannot shed . . .
The “red” and the “blue” refer to the colors of the Spider-Man costume, which was about to make its big reveal. In other words, the iconic Spider-Man costume wasn’t just “a costume”—it was the outward display of his suffering. Peter was literally going to wear his pain. But would any—and I mean any —of that come across to an audience? Would the soaring music and Julie’s staging compensate for any lyrical woolliness? These were good questions. We didn’t ask them.
As a standard Actors’ Equity–approved staged reading, only twenty-nine hours of rehearsal time were allotted. But several of the actors had worked with Julie before, and that was going to make her job easier. Six of the actors were recent alumni of Across the Universe . Jim Sturgess and Evan Rachel Wood, the movie’s leads, would be Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. Their mutual friend T. V. Carpio, who played heartsick lesbian Prudence and sang “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” in the movie, would be “The Girl Geek.” And David Chandler, Julie’s companion from Oberlin College days, had agreed to play the Green Goblin.
So confidentiality statements were signed, scripts were distributed, and the sweltering summer days were spent in high spirits. Evan Rachel Wood’s flowing-haired hippie look in Across the Universe had evolved into Vogue magazine–ready black club dresses and black nail polish now that she was dating Goth-rocker Marilyn Manson. But her alabaster cool melted when she heard her new Edge and Bono–penned songs. “No way! That’s my favorite!”she shrieked, when Bono confirmed they sampled a sound from David Bowie’s “Ashes to Ashes.” She was already staking a claim to be Mary Jane “for the real one.” She didn’t want anyone else debuting these songs.
Jim Sturgess, meanwhile, seemed like he knew his career was about to break big once Universe opened in September. Whether he’d commit to performing Peter on Broadway was an open question. But he was obviously having a fine time that week in New York. During one raucous session while learning “Boy Falls From the Sky,” Jim suddenly found himself with Bono for a backup singer. The two of them shared one microphone as they belted the final lines of the song: “To give you must yourself receive / And when you do / . . . Then belieeeeve!”
The band whomped a final chord, and the rehearsal room erupted into whistles and applause. Suddenly aware of the hyper-sincerity of the lyric, Bono slipped into a Green Goblin drawl to catcall his own song. “Bravo, bravo. ‘Belieeeeeeve.’ Boy, that’s pow’r’ful stuff, ain’t it?!” The line went straight into the script.
Feeling confident, we did a run-through of the show the night before the reading. Hoo, was it lousy. Shrill, amateurish, embarrassing dreck. But that always happened with first run-throughs. Almost always. Anyone up for a drink? Or five?
• • •
Only eighty seats could fit in the biggest of the rented rooms, and on July 16 they were filled with investors and representatives from Marvel. The actors filed in. Julie got the nod from an ashen-faced David Garfinkle. She stood in front of the audience with winsome anxiousness.
“So this is the thing about Spider-Man . It’s a very visual piece. Look how gorgeous it looks.”
She mockingly swept her hand behind her at this drop-ceilinged room cluttered with performers and sound equipment.
“Glen’s going to read the stage directions, but there will be places where that just won’t work, and you’ll just have to go with the flow.”
Julie flashed me a “well-here-goes-nothing” smile. I leaned into the mike.
“Okay, then. Act One.”
The opening musical notes jolted the audience to attention. The Geeks’ first scene was actually entertaining. Jim’s and Evan’s charisma filled
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