"Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark" will shutter its doors in early January after a troubled three year run. As first reported in The Wall Street Journal, the most expensive production in the history of Broadway is currently selling at 48% capacity which is simply not strong enough to support a profitable performance schedule. There are indications by the show's producer, Jeremiah J. Harris, that a revamped version will open in Las Vegas sometime in 2015.
The production has done $203 million in total ticket sales. There is no official word on how close "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark" is to the recoupment of its original $75 million capitalization. However, last week's ticket totals were approximately $750,000 and the show has a weekly running cost of $1 million. These numbers do not provide a financial return to the production's investors in any meaningful way.
The musical's path to opening night became the stuff of theater nightmares with multiple cast injuries, malfunctioning effects, a ballooning budget and in-fighting amongst the creative staff. This conflict led to the dismissal of Spiderman's original director, Julie Taymor, in March, 2011. Taymor is the guiding force behind the smash stage version of "The Lion King" which has been running on Broadway since 1999.
"Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark" was then shut down during previews and restaged under the direction of Philip William McKinley who replaced Taymor. The revamped show opened to generally negative reviews in June, 2011. However, the production features stunning aerial stunts and a musical score by U2's Bono and the Edge which led it to become a audience favorite earning tickets sales of $1.5 million per week at the time.
Now with those sales dwindling, "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark" will end its legendary run and go dark on Broadway. The producers still hope to mount the production in other countries at some future date.
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