Tracy Morgan Drunkenly Covers U2 | Buzzfeed
Tracy singing “New York New York” and “Killing Me Softly” through the link.
Okay FNO, I forgive you. If only for begetting this glory.
Music Video: Spider Man Turn Off The Dark: Reeve Carney - “Rise Above 1” ft. Bono, The Edge (via)
I’m not sure where the budget for such things keeps coming from, but it’s not every day you see a Broadway show put forth a high value, glossy music video. Surprisingly, it contains only a minimal amount of flying shots.
At least they picked the right song to make a video of.
As the show opens tonight, Bono and the Edge open up to the Times about the now infamous production.
Delays are something they’re very familiar with. This time they can’t blame it on Julie Taymor though.
Arachne-shoe number not included.
In my review of the previous incarnation of the show I wrote,
Most of the musical numbers are melody-less resting in a patent U2 minor key. That’s not to say there are a few memorable numbers with good melodies, and the show’s theme is super catchy. It also seems like no one told Bono and the Edge how to write a musical, as it lacks certain staples of musical theater that are just necessary for connecting with an audience (instead it provides high flying action sequences).
So judge for yourself. After a quick listen it seems the songs work a lot better recorded and this whole thing may have made a better concept album? Then again I don’t dislike U2 and might be biased.
Review: Spider Man Turn Off The Dark
Note: As with The Book of Mormon, Spider Man is still in previews and will be undergoing changes. These are my thoughts on what I saw but by no means may reflect what the final production will be.
It’s a shame that so many have come down so hard on Spider Man Turn Off The Dark. If we lived in some parallel universe where the show didn’t kick up as much controversy as it has, if it went through a better workshop process and an out of town try, perhaps if it wasn’t plagued by extremely public issues, we’d all be singing a different tune. Unfortunately we’re not, and we live in this universe, where it’s hard to view the show through any other lens than the tarnished one that has enfolded over the past year. The reason this is such a shame though is because despite major book and music problems, Turn Off The Dark is truly a technical achievement.
Ben Brantley, lead theater critic for The New York Times, in his review was quoted as saying, “How can $65 million look so cheap?” Others have claimed that you can’t see the budget on stage. They are dead wrong. Every physical aspect of the show from costumes, to skewed perspective sets, to beyond complicated flying rigs, to lighting and projection screens is huge. Unlike anything Broadway as every seen. Some may even go as for as to say it’s epic. It’s hard not to sit in the audience with your mouth agape at the sight of multiple actors flying over head. There’s a real sense of danger and excitement to it even if it isn’t fully conveying a fight scene. Similarly Taymor’s staple is all over it, and she does have an eye for evocative design. If you were a fan of the look of Across The Universe, chances are you’ll like this. The amount of trap doors, lifts, treadmills, swinging, tracked pieces, giant unfolding walls, swinging fabric, nets, and sliding screens is dizzying. Really? You couldn’t see the budget on stage?
Where most critics have gone wrong in calling the show “cheap” is in its purposely designed “flats.” Taymor makes much use of one dimensional, but skewed perspective walls and set pieces to portray a comic book style look. The seemingly one dimensional pieces give the illusion of the flat pages in a graphic novel. Don’t mistake stylized for low budget. And for the most part the skewed perspective and comic book stylized effect works.
What doesn’t work is the much panned book and music. You know, the actual content of the show. Most of the musical numbers are melody-less resting in a patent U2 minor key. That’s not to say there are a few memorable numbers with good melodies, and the show’s theme is super catchy. It also seems like no one told Bono and the Edge how to write a musical, as it lacks certain staples of musical theater that are just necessary for connecting with an audience (instead it provides high flying action sequences).
The idea behind the book is great, first act origin story (as seen in the first film), second act is like the second movie (Spidey gives up his powers) but with Taymor’s own villian (mythological spider demigod, the immortal Arachne) instead of Doc Ock. Beat to beat though and scene to scene the story makes little sense. In act one it jumps over major emotional benchmarks of the comic (because it has to fit the whole story) and act two breaks down to complete nonsense forgoing any kind of logic. That’s not even mentioning the forced humor and U2 meta jokes. Ugh.
It would be easy to say, fix these problems and you’ll have a great show. Write some more tuneful songs, add some exposition for logic, and there you go.* But, the book and music are so tied to the giant production aspects that to change them would probably mean a huge physical undertaking as well which explains why the show keeps getting delayed.
*Re: The infamous Arachne and Spider women shoes number. Endlessly laughable and way too silly considering the entire second act has been super dark up until that point. Take out the part about the shoes and it becomes more about seduction. There. Fixed. That one’s on the house, Taymor.
In regards to the actors, Patrick Page (Green Goblin) is a stand out and Jennifer Damiano’s voice soars (though some songs aren’t really in her range). Reeve Carney is a great singer and can belt the hell out of a U2 song, but his lack of acting experience is on display. The chorus is gigantic, and they do a fine job with what they’re given.
Given they can make huge overhauls to the intangibles this thing could really excel. If they don’t, the bad buzz could kill it. Regardless it was an experience to sit through what is surely a moment in Broadway history. What Taymor has put on that stage is again an achievement, whether it ends up opening to success or spectacular failure.
Bono Tackles Spider-Man’s Music on 60 Minutes | Broadway.com
The video includes music clips from the show. The full piece will air Sunday on 60 Minutes.
“Paris… The Edge, Bono, @kanyewest and I.” -Lenny Kravitz on Twitpic
How did one photo contain all that ego?
Also I just realized Lenny Kravitz’s first name is Lenny.
