Brace yourselves for a shocker, folks: the Spider-Man musical has been delayed once again.
Currently in the midst of preview performances leading up to an officially scheduled January 11 opening, "Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark" will instead lift its curtains at some point in February, according to two unnamed insiders who spoke with the New York Times.
[UPDATE: The delay was confirmed via press release today.]
The delay is reportedly intended to provide producers with enough time to stage a new final musical number and possibly add new music from composers Bono and The Edge of U2 fame. The rock duo resumes full-time work on the Spider-Man musical later this month.
Sources have identified the musical's second act as a particularly problematic area. While Act I tells the familiar story of Peter Parker becoming a masked crime-fighter, Act II is "largely the invention of [director Julie Taymor] and Bono, and includes some major reversals that can be hard to understand in the fast-moving show."
Although sources are citing a need for creative improvements as the reason for the latest delay, it's not as if the Spider-Man musical has been without its fair share of publicized problems. In addition to numerous financial woes, "Turn off the Dark" has been the subject of scrutiny recently for three reported accidents, including one that left a performer with two broken wrists and a separate incident leaving an actress with a concussion.
Official spokespersons for "Turn off the Dark" haven't confirmed the delay just yet, though an official announcement is expected later today. In delaying the musical's debut until February, "Turn off the Dark" will premiere in front of audiences a full year after its original intended release date.
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