One Foot in Each Camp for ‘Spider-Man’ Musical

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The New York Sun

The existence of a “Spider-Man” musical, which is holding open auditions in Manhattan today and is scheduled to open on Broadway for the 2009-10 season, is no real surprise. Broadway has an affinity for blockbuster movie hits, such as “Legally Blonde,” and many a Disney cartoon, so three “Spider-Man” movies, given their major financial success, were a likely target. What is a surprise, however, is that the “Spider-Man” musical seems to be following a different, more recent Broadway trend: attempting to bridge the gap between flashy musical theater and the firmly rooted New York rock scene.

With music by Bono and The Edge of U2, the production’s interest in a rock edge isn’t a secret. But the producers and directors also seem to be cultivating a downtown vibe. Today’s casting call is at the Knitting Factory, a venue with a history of performances of alternative music, booking bands such as Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo in their early years.

“The Knitting Factory is such an authentic, great rock venue,” a casting director for the production, Tiffany Little Canfield, said. Ms. Canfield said she hopes the location of the auditions will attract “crossovers,” she says, or “people who haven’t thought they should go out for a Broadway show.”

The casting call is predictably reminiscent of the benign but classic comic book characters, with the key words “nerdy,” “sex appeal,” and “girl next door.” The actors to fill the roles of Peter Parker and Mary Jane must also have a “strong pop/rock singing voice.” And then there is the mysterious call for a “Principal Woman” who can be of any ethnicity, preferably have an accent, and be a “world music type.”

Broadway has been pulling from New York’s independent music scene with increasing frequency in recent years, and “Spider-Man” appears to be following the trend. In 2006, Duncan Sheik wrote the music for the rock musical “Spring Awakening,” which filled its cast with young, little-known actors and musicians. This past year saw Stew, a musician who continues to play with his rock band The Negro Problem, and had never before written for the dramatic stage, move his musical “Passing Strange” from the Public Theater to the Belasco Theater on Broadway. Stew wrote and performed the music (which is decidedly rock, not show tunes), and wrote and won the Tony Award for the book, for “Passing Strange” with fellow band member Heidi Rodewald. The production was filmed in recent weeks by director and producer Spike Lee.

“Why haven’t there been five musicals that deal with music on the streets?” Stew asked rhetorically at a press conference this month to announce the filming of the play. “Why isn’t the music that is in your iPod onstage?”

Mr. Lee spoke of of the diversifying effect that “Passing Strange” has on the Broadway scene. ” I don’t know much about Broadway,” he said. “But they got to do something as a whole to change the stigma that is attached to it.”

And new musicals aren’t the only ones capitalizing on the indie rock music trend on Broadway. Last week, a revival of the first Broadway show to feature rock music, the 1967 musical “Hair,” opened at Shakespeare in the Park in a production by the Public Theater. The musical was inspired by the lifestyles of the rebellious, freewheeling hippies living in New York and the music with which they were associated.

Whether the casting crew for “Spider-Man” will find their rock stars remains to be seen, but names such as U2 and the Knitting Factory may just attract those skeptical artists.


The New York Sun

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