From Spider-Man's Reeve Carney, Good Morning America!

I'll admit that hearing a song out of context is not the best way to sell a Broadway show. Still, I was underwhelmed by the debut of a song from Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark on Good Morning America.

First of all, the cameras should have taken us inside the Foxwoods Theatre for a tour and an interview with director Julie Taymor. Having her sitting in the GMA studio, holding still photographs of the set and costumes on her lap, didn't do much to convey the tremendous scope of this production.

I mean, according to an interview in The New York Times with lead producer Michael Cohl, the musical has a price tag of $60 million, making it the most expensive show in Broadway history. C'mon, show me how spectacular that set looks. Make me think I need to get my ticket now.

(Interestingly, the article notes that Cohl got his big break as chief promoter for the Rolling Stones "Steel Wheels" tour, which I saw in Syracuse in 1989. I remember it was a big deal - everyone I know went - and I think I still have my bootleg T-shirt somewhere.)

There are two reasons I'm interested in Spider-Man. One is Taymor, whose work on The Lion King I loved. And the other is the music, written by Bono and The Edge, from U2, a band I love (at least their early stuff).

The musical's Peter Parker, Reeve Carney, performed "Boy Falls From The Sky,'' backed by his band, Carney.

It was different from a traditional show tune and I like the idea of mixing up the sound on Broadway. There ought to be all different kinds of music on the Great White Way.

But it struck me as a generic slow rock song from a slight twentysomething with his hair falling in his eyes. Plus, Carney was slurring the lyrics so much that I could hardly understand them. And he's not exactly a commanding presence onstage. Hope he's got enough stamina for eight shows a week.

You can watch his performance here:



Having a national television audience, I was hoping the creative team would come up with something a little more jaw-dropping than what I saw. Don't get me wrong, I'm still interested. But I think they hit a single when they should have been trying for a home run.

Spider-Man begins previews Nov. 14 and opens Dec. 21.

Spider-Man the Musical

Okay, might as well keep today's aerial theme going.

According to Playbill, the Spider-Man musical has a theatre - the Hilton; a first preview - Jan. 16, 2010; and a subtitle - Turn off the Dark. (Why don't they just call it Spider-Man the Musical? That's what everybody is going to end up calling it anyway. Oh, I just learned from the New York Times ArtsBeat blog that "Turn Off the Dark" is the title of one of the songs.)

Also, not to be nit-picky so early, but I'm a little concerned about the Hilton. All of those words people used to describe it turned out to be true - cavernous, barnlike. When I saw Young Frankenstein I was on the right orchestra, about two-thirds of the way back. In most Broadway theatres, that would be fine. But in the Hilton, I felt really far away.

I have to admit, I'm not into comic books and I'm not a big fan of superhero stories or Evan Rachel Wood, the only performer who's been announced so far.

But I'm excited about this because Bono and The Edge are writing the songs and Julie Taymor is directing. I like U2 - at least their older songs. And I'm a big fan of Julie Taymor.

When I was watching the fantastic documentary Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About on PBS last week, I tried to think of choreographers working today who would be considered as innovative.

While I know she's not a choreographer, Taymor came to mind for her work on The Lion King. I loved the way she used puppetry and elements of Asian theatre and video projections to make the African landscape come alive. If anyone can put that space at the Hilton to good use, she can.

So I'm hoping this will be an uplifting collaboration.