The media battle revs up for 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark'

 
Rome wasn’t built in a day, but if the ancient founders of the Eternal City were operating at the pace of the creative team of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” they’d still be tweaking their plans for the Colosseum.

Meanwhile, the show is breaking records left and right. Not only is it the most expensive production in Broadway history, but it has already had a victory over “Wicked” in the weekly box office tallies.
     
"Spider-Man" also had the longest preview period of any Broadway offering. The endlessly delayed official opening has put critics in a pickle: Should they review or wait until the producers deem the show “ready,” in which time local audiences will have already bought tickets or seen the show while the tourist crowds will have been tantalized by all the media buzz that has preceded what many expect will be fair to middling reviews.   
 
To read my take on the “Spider-Man” spin wars, click here. 

-- Charles McNulty
 twitter.com/charlesmcnulty

Photo: "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" co-writer Glen Berger, from right, director and co-writer Julie Taymor and music writers Bono and the Edge