When I was in America last September I went to see two shows on Broadway. Spider-man and Kinky Boots, which I reviewed here. I was excited to see Spider-Man as I'm sure many people reading this will be aware the show was encountered a myriad of issues before it finally opened. Unfortunately the show has now closed (as of 4 January 2014) however is will be transferring to Las Vegas and will be touring Europe. It has been rumoured that the show will be shown in Wembley Arena at some point in the next couple of years. With the Las Vegas transfer the show's producer Michael Cohl said "We'll work on improving everything, It could be anything. It's a blank piece of paper." This suggests the show could be even better than it was, but it could also run into many more issues.
What was good about going to the show was that as a tourist with a New York Pass my friend and I got discounted tickets. Although we couldn't choose our seats we surprisingly were in a brilliant spot. We were about half way back in the stalls and to the far left. We were right on the isle though. Usually I would say that one needs to be sat more centrally to get the most out of a show, however for this production I don't think were you sit is really an issue. with the acrobatics and wire work that goes on throughout the performance there are those places were sometimes the actors get exceptionally close to you or fly directly over your head, but of the overall show any seat you choose will be good.
From the moment the show opened I knew it was going to be a bit of a spectacle. That's the only word I can really use to describe it. The opening was more like something out of Cirque Du Soleil than from your average Broadway or West End show. The momentum of the show didn't really slow down, even during the emotional scenes. With people swinging on wires almost throughout the show and moving sets this consistent momentum wasn't really much of a surprise. The set had, appropriately, a very comic book feel to it which really makes you feel like your part of a comic. This whole feeling of a 3d interactive comic book, surprisingly for me, felt amazing.
The characters were fantastic and from what little I know of the Spider-man comics, were very accurate and true to the way that they were written. The guy that plays Spider-man, Justin Matthew Sargent, had only taken over the role 2 days before I went to see the show. He was good though I did find him a little wooden. That may well have been for a lack of experience being the principle cast member. There is no indication if he will take up the role again when it transfers to Las Vegas, but I do hope they find someone a bit more relaxed on stage. The stand out actor for me though was Robert Cuccioli, who played Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Absolutely lovably evil, if that makes sense. a fantastic actor who's acting was enhanced by was can only be described as a sceptical in itself.
There was however one issue I had with the show. The music. Not because it was bad it just wasn't memorable. In fact I cant remember any one of the songs. The sets were fantastic both in the scale and in how it was used. sometimes it did feel a little sparse, like when the were visiting the lab of Dr Norman Osborn, but never to an extent were it really affected my impression of the show. As much as the show impressed me on its scale and I did have a good time, it wasn't something that I will remember for the rest of my life or indeed see again.
Don't take my last paragraph the wrong way. If you ever go to Las Vegas, or if/when it transfers to London, I would definitely recommend you make time to see this show. Its like nothing you've seen before.
From the moment the show opened I knew it was going to be a bit of a spectacle. That's the only word I can really use to describe it. The opening was more like something out of Cirque Du Soleil than from your average Broadway or West End show. The momentum of the show didn't really slow down, even during the emotional scenes. With people swinging on wires almost throughout the show and moving sets this consistent momentum wasn't really much of a surprise. The set had, appropriately, a very comic book feel to it which really makes you feel like your part of a comic. This whole feeling of a 3d interactive comic book, surprisingly for me, felt amazing.
The characters were fantastic and from what little I know of the Spider-man comics, were very accurate and true to the way that they were written. The guy that plays Spider-man, Justin Matthew Sargent, had only taken over the role 2 days before I went to see the show. He was good though I did find him a little wooden. That may well have been for a lack of experience being the principle cast member. There is no indication if he will take up the role again when it transfers to Las Vegas, but I do hope they find someone a bit more relaxed on stage. The stand out actor for me though was Robert Cuccioli, who played Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. Absolutely lovably evil, if that makes sense. a fantastic actor who's acting was enhanced by was can only be described as a sceptical in itself.
There was however one issue I had with the show. The music. Not because it was bad it just wasn't memorable. In fact I cant remember any one of the songs. The sets were fantastic both in the scale and in how it was used. sometimes it did feel a little sparse, like when the were visiting the lab of Dr Norman Osborn, but never to an extent were it really affected my impression of the show. As much as the show impressed me on its scale and I did have a good time, it wasn't something that I will remember for the rest of my life or indeed see again.
Don't take my last paragraph the wrong way. If you ever go to Las Vegas, or if/when it transfers to London, I would definitely recommend you make time to see this show. Its like nothing you've seen before.
