Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History

In “Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History,” Glen Berger, the co-writer of the show’s book, discusses the development of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” detailing the lofty artistic visions of its creators, the struggles to make them a reality, particularly during the onslaught of the Great Recession, and the eventual falling-out between he and Julie Taymor.Berger offers insight into how Marvel sought to preserve their intellectual property, prohibiting swearing and sexuality. He writes, “What [Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada] unintentionally put in my head was that we had been entrusted with a living artifact; that Spider-Man wasn’t globally popular by accident; that Spider-Man was an icon and that our job was not to be iconoclasts” (pg. 88). Berger describes a meeting between Taymor and Marvel CEO Ike Perlmutter, writing, “Ike seemed to have no interest in the show. He had a long successful history taking advantage of companies tottering on the edge of bankruptcy” (pg. 110). However, “three days later, grasping just how damaging it would be to the Spider-Man brand if the project collapsed, Marvel strongly indicated to David Garfinkle that they were going to put up the money to save the show” (pg. 110). Unfortunately, all of the reports of dysfunction led the Marvel representatives to leave the meeting without investing the much-needed capital. Berger writes, “What Ike Perlmutter didn’t divulge at either of the two Hello-Marvel meetings was that Disney was buying Marvel. Any day now. For four billion dollars. So while Ike was raking David over the coals, sermonizing about the enormity of thirty million, Ike (who owned thirty-eight percent of Marvel stock) was a week away from receiving a personal payday of $800 million in cash and $590 million in Disney stock” (pg. 111).Describing the previews process – in particular New York Post reviewer Michael Riedel’s vitriol – Berger writes, “‘Spider-Man’ was making the newspapers. We on the inside could only imagine the toll it was taking on Julie, who was already exhausted by the last three months of storm and stress. And it was all so meta. Here we had based our second act partly on the 1967 issue ‘Spider-Man No More!’ in which Peter Parker is so besieged by the press (led by a demagoguing Jameson) that he has a breakdown and gives up being Spider-Man” (pg. 207). He continues, “‘Turn Off the Dark’ was always meant to be a spectacle, but the spectacle was supposed to be confined to the stage. Now it was becoming one of those cultural events that blazed across the mediasphere like a grease fire” (pg. 209). Berger discusses the way continued problems during the previews wore away at the show, leading to an intransigence among the writers and producers. He writes, “That’s the thing about exhaustion – it doesn’t stop you cold. Not at first. What exhaustion might do first is convert your passion into a mania, sending you trudging down an increasingly narrow tunnel, where perspective sloughs away and clear-eyed self-assessment goes out the window” (pg. 262). From there, every issue became personal. Describing conflicts with Taymor, Berger writes, “I only had to push back a little before her dramaturgical bullet points were abandoned in favor of the personal. The thermonuclear. As soon as a relationship is built, we carry around the codes to atomize it” (pg. 279).While Berger offers insight into the struggles behind “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” he makes it clear that he may only convey his own perspective. He writes, “This book is a story about storytelling. All of us engage in the act every minute of the day, and then again when we’re dreaming” (pg. 324). Turning to the lawsuit Julie Taymor filed against him, Bono, and Edge, Berger writes, “She sued me because the deepest yearning in an artist is the desire to communicate. And revenge is communication. Only instead of thoughts, or a spectrum or emotions, you’re conveying pain. You’re communicating your pain to the people you believe caused you this pain so that they can understand it in their bones. And rather than with words, or paint, or music, the medium of revenge is violence – the infliction of a physical or psychic wound” (pg. 348). He does, however, offer hope: the show lasted for several years, gained many fans (including myself, as I saw “Turn Off the Dark” on 8 July 2011), and Taymor’s work was praised. Berger’s account may not be the final story of “Turn Off the Dark,” but it’s worth reading for anyone interested in Broadway, the work of Julie Taymor, or comic book characters in other media.

A backstage account of the creation of a Broadway show; full of optimism, creative conflicts and personalAngst. Fascinating read.

As a story, the sheer drama and humanity of the attempt to make this musical is shockingly compelling. And Berger’s telling of it is masterful and almost embarrassingly honest. Through his eyes as a participant, by the end of the book, we have a thorough understanding of what went wrong and what went right over the course of the perhaps absurdly ambitious quest to make a Spiderman musical. Thanks to the author’s understanding of art and human nature we also get to see that sometimes these were the same things. As compelling as the people in this real life story are, it is a testament to the nuance of the author that no real villains emerge. By the end, we understand where everyone was coming from, and mostly want to give them all a big hug!

Glen Berger is the co-author of the "book" -- the words other than the song lyrics -- for the Broadway musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. He stuck with the play through more than six years of drafts, rewrites, the firing of superstar director Julie Taymor, the complete revamping of the show, and -- finally -- the relative success of the new version.I saw the original version of Spider-Man and it was, by far, the worst experience I have ever had in a theater. The plot was incoherent, the music (by Bono and The Edge of U2) was mediocre -- and the lyrics were often unintelligible because of the muddy sound system -- the attempts at humor fell flat, and the attempts at transmitting a message fell even flatter. Berger was clearly responsible for some of these problems … and yet, he has written a terrific book about his experiences.I'm not sure what I was expecting -- probably a hatchet job laying all of the blame on Taymor -- but what I got was a funny, insightful, candid, honest, even-handed attempt to make sense of his long experience with this play. Sure Taymor comes off as a bit of an inflexible egomaniac -- and her tendency to blow up at the expense of assistant set directors and the like, is very unappealing -- but Berger bends over backward to play it straight, and, at least as far as I can see, he succeeds.Clearly, Berger should be kept far away from writing Broadway musicals, by the use of machine gun nests backed up by drones, if necessary. But he should be encouraged to write more first-person nonfiction. I don't know what else he has done in his life that he can write about, but on the basis of this book, I would be happy to read his account of walking his dog and brushing his teeth. If you have an interest in Broadway musicals, the theater in general, or just this particular, much discussed, show, you will love this book. I would give it 10 stars if I could.Final point: The book is remarkably free of glitches. There are a couple of minuscule things: He changes someone's age within a couple of paragraphs and he apparently doesn't know the difference between an editorial (written by the editors of a newspaper) and an op-ed (written by an invited contributor). But the book is mercifully free of the typos, omitted words, repetitions of whole paragraphs within a few pages, and other problems that plague modern publishing. Maybe he had a good editor, but given the sorry state of modern publishing, I would guess he actually took the time to proofread the book. Who would think we would have gotten to the point that doing so would merit praise?Final, final point: His last name is Berger; his wife's last name is Almquist. Their kids have the last name of Bergquist. How neat is that?

I'm very much in two minds about this book. Its a very interesting story, to be sure, but I did find Berger's philosophising a tad irritating at times.It is essentially the story of how obstinacy, arrogance and timidity blighted the production of this show. Other than the injuries suffered by performers, I suspect many Broadway shows can boast tales not dissimilar to this, whether they were hits or flops (and I agree with Joe Allen that you cannot really count this show as a flop, even if it didn't recoup its investment). To me, none of the principles come out of this very well, with the exception of Edge and, to a lesser extent, Bono. As a tale of modern commercial theatre, its worth a read.

A brilliantly written book and (cliche warning) a real page-turner.This is not just a journalistic reporting of all the pitfalls incurred in putting on a staggeringly difficult show. The people involved are brought to life by the author - and he was one of them. Glen Berger has managed to tell the story with an extrodinary degree of detachment given how involved he was personally. His thoughts, observations and commentaries are really perceptive, honest and at times, very comical. I ended up feeling very sorry for all the hard-working, dedicated people who gave so much to the enterprise.This is an excellent read and I can highly recommend it.

An entertaining read about the rollercoaster ride the playwright Glen berger took as the writer of a musical that went through many versions, and many disastrous outings, before turning into the hit it is today. He worked with the successful director Julia Taymor, and with U2's Bono and Edge. It is very funny from time to time, and if, like me, you find stories of great flops as interesting as the story of great success, then this is one to read. The cost of the show, the waste and extravagance, plus the size of the egos of those involved make one's mind boggle.

Why is this book not better-known?!This is a beautifully written and, frankly, jaw-dropping account of what REALLY went on with the infamous Spidey musical.Essential reading.Loved it. Glen is such a terrific writer.

Absolutely brilliant telling of the behind the scenes story about the staging of the Spider-Man musical - never got a chance to see it when I finally got to New York but the whole behind the scenes events makes you wonder how it ever got to stage at all ! I couldn't stop reading this book and it is in turns funny, sad and just bizarre - lovers of musical theatre will get a kick out of the backstage antics of getting it to broadway and if you are a fan of U2 you will also get an insight into edge and bono composing the music - highly recommended