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

About this book

From the shows cowriter who saw it all firsthand this is the epic story of the most expensive ambitious dangerous and controversial Broadway musical of all-time: Spider-Man. As one can imagine writing a Broadway musical has its challenges. But it turns out there are challenges one cant imagine when collaborating with two rock legends and a superstar director to stage the biggest most expensive production in theater history. Song of Spider-Man is playwright Glen Bergers story of a theatrical dreamor nightmarecome true. Renowned director Julie Taymor picked Berger to cowrite the book for a $25 million Spider-Man musical. Togetheralong with U2s Bono and Edge they would shape a work that was technically daring and emotionally profound with a story fueled by the heros quest for loveand the villains quest for revenge. Or at least thats what theyd hoped for. But when charismatic producer Tony Adams died suddenly the show began to lose its footing. Soon the budget was ballooning financing was evaporating and producers were jumping ship or getting demoted. And then came the injuries. And then came word-of- mouth about the show itself. What followed was a pageant of foul-ups falling-outs ever-more-harrowing mishaps and a whole lot of malfunctioning spider legs. This circus-rock-and-roll-drama with its $65 million price tag had become more of a spectacle than its creators ever wished for. During the shows unprecedented seven months of previews the companys struggles to reach opening night inspired breathless tabloid coverage and garnered international notoriety. Through it all Berger observed the chaos with his signature mix of big ambition and self-deprecating humor. Song of Spider-Man records the journey of this cast and crew as a hilarious memoir about friendship collaboration the foibles of hubris and the power of art to remind us that were alive.