Deadline points out that Bloomberg’s Jeremy Gerard reviewed Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark even though the show is still in previews, and he was not kind. Says Gerard: “An unfocused hodge-podge of story-telling, myth making and spectacle that comes up short in every department … Bono and The Edge haven’t a clue about writing for the theater.” But if you prefer your Spider-Man issues a bit more lighthearted, here’s a winner: Michael Riedel, the New York Post columnist who has been going hard at the show for months on end, went to check it out last Thursday, paying for his ticket and everything. And then the show’s management promptly picked the worst possible person to bump out of a seat. Riedel was asked to move to a seat in the balcony for “safety reasons,” but objected until he got the real story. It gets pretty funny.
I took out my notebook, identified myself as a reporter and asked why my seat in row D — D for death, I guess — wasn’t safe. The color drained from the manager’s face and, after conferring with the security guard, he said: “Sir, this seat has been sold twice. I have another seat for you, and I will give you a full refund.” Things were getting fishier by the minute, but I wasn’t going to move. “Sir, we cannot start the show until you move,” the manager said. “If you do not, I will have to call the police.” Not wanting to go to Broadway jail, I reluctantly relinquished my seat and followed the manager up the aisle … As the manager escorted me to the balcony, I said, “Look, are you banishing me to the balcony because I’m Michael Riedel of the New York Post?” “I did not know who you were, sir, until you told me,” he said. My ego deflated, I plopped down into my new seat — a lousy one, up in the rafters, against the wall.
Considering that yesterday a lead actress dropped out, this bit of drama should be downright hilarious to the Spider-Man producers.
’Spidey’ stole my seat! [NYP]
