Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History

by Glen Berger

“One of the best literary works of this year” (Miami Herald-Tribune): The true story of a theatrical dream—or nightmare—come true…the making of the Spider-Man musical.As you might imagine, writing a Broadway musical has its challenges. But it turns out there are challenges one can’t begin to imagine when collaborating with two rock legends and a superstar director to stage the biggest, most expensive production in theater history. Renowned director Julie Taymor picked playwright Glen Berger to cowrite the book for a $25 million Spider-Man musical. Together—along with U2’s Bono and Edge—they would shape a work that was technically daring and emotionally profound, with a story fueled by the hero’s quest for love…and the villains’ quest for revenge. Or at least, that’s what they’d hoped for. But when charismatic producer Tony Adams died suddenly, the show began to lose its footing. Soon the budget was ballooning, financing was evaporating, and producers were jumping ship or getting demoted. And then came the injuries. And then came word-of-mouth about the show itself. What followed was a pageant of foul-ups, falling-outs, ever-more harrowing mishaps, and a whole lot of malfunctioning spider legs. This “circus-rock-and-roll-drama,” with its $65 million price tag, had become more of a spectacle than its creators ever wished for. During the show’s unprecedented seven months of previews, the company’s struggles to reach opening night inspired breathless tabloid coverage and garnered international notoriety. Through it all, Berger observed the chaos with his signature mix of big ambition and self-deprecating humor.

Genres: Nonfiction, Theatre, Memoir, Music, History, Audiobook, Pop Culture

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 5, 2013

Reviews

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who appreciates Broadway spectacle, I heard about the chain of catastrophes that comprised the Spider-Man musical and couldn't help but be intrigued. How could things have come to such a pass? Well, Glen Berger, responsible for the book of that infamous turkey, steps in to tell the unlikely tale. Miscommunications, power struggles, unfortunate coincedences, and, yes, ghastly bone-cracking accidents abound.

It's difficult to be sympathetic to Berger; he comes off as the quintessential Woody-Allen-film Beta Male. Utterly starstruck at the prospect of working with Julie Taymor, he instantly takes a nebbishy backseat to her overweening directorial vision. He leaves home, and his wife and children in the lurch, to pursue this project, eventually spending nine straight months in New York to see the show through to production, with mortgage notices coming fast and furious and the chances of the hoped-for million dollar payday rapidly dwindling. Perhaps he includes those details to make the reader understand the pressure he was under. But for me, it made him seem like a jerk, and made me feel sorry for his wife. A dedication and a one-paragraph apotheosis in the acknowledgements is nowhere near enough recompense (especially after chapter upon chapter of Taymor deification).

After you finish the whole sorry saga, it's impossible not to engage in Monday morning quarterbacking. For what it's worth, here's my analysis: Taymor's staging of The Lion King works because of its respect for the culture it's drawing from. The music, the choreography, the story elements that touch on African traditional beliefs--all of these seek to represent the source culture faithfully onstage. Not so, Spider-Man. Over and over, Berger mentions Taymor's (and, to a degree, his own) disdain for middle America - "suburban" is a favorite pejorative. "Commercial" concerns are for other people. "Art by poll?" Contemptible. (Never mind the fact that when purveyors of middlebrow media Rupert Murdoch and Glenn Beck attend previews, these principles evaporate in the feverish rush to gain favor.) The problem is, middle-class culture is what gave rise to Spider-Man, and to comic books in general. You can have amazing costumes, crazy sets and stunts, but you can't expect a story to ring true if you can't respect the culture that gave birth to it.

[Leslie ☆︎ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book, but it really made me dislike Glen Berger — and he’s the one who wrote it!

“Song of Spider-Man” is Berger’s way of course-correcting history by saying, “Um, ACTUALLY, I knew a Spider-Man musical was a bad idea from the beginning, but I was soooo in love with Julie Taymor that I kept my mouth shut!” He’s passive, but not in an “Everyman caught in a crazy situation” way — he’s judgmental and cruel, but only in his head. He’s not a nervous guy with a heart of gold. He’s a quiet jerk.

And can we talk about his opinion of journalists? He really believes the press is the enemy of the people because they reported on the chaos of a chaotic production. The call is coming from inside the house, Glen.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel dirty having read this, like I've been rifling through Julie Taymor's dirty laundry. Well, through the dirty laundry of anyone and everyone who was ever involved with Spider-man.

Glen Berger has obviously not learned from the advice he repeats throughout his gossipy memoir: not be the victim.

Instead, he exacts his revenge on everyone the only way he can; he KNEW about the parts of the show that were not working. He just didn't say anything. He regards bloggers with venom, but then turns around and quotes a positive blog post (a post I actually commented on in 2011 singing the praises of the Taymor aspects of 1.0) just so he can juxtapose it with a negative newspaper review. Remember, the worst thing you can be in Berger's world is a newspaper critic (especially if your name is Michael Riedel).

Sure, Spider-man 1.0 was a hot mess - but there was a great deal of enjoyment gleaned from the spectacle (minus the shoe song, of course. 2.0 was alright, but too boring in comparison). The Broadway drama of Berger's spectacle of a book? Not so enjoyable. While you could debate whether the world needed a musical version of Spider-man, I can unequivocally assure you that Song of Spider-Man's presence is needed by no one in the world aside from our hurt little victim, Glen Berger.

[Caleb Hoyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a tragicomic account of the development and production of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. It captures so many fascinating elements of the creative process, from the joys and frustrations of collaboration, to the influence of corporations and the press on the development of art, to the eternal struggle between executing a unique artistic vision and satisfying an audience’s expectations. These issues are presented with a fun, dishy backstage tone at times, but with a serious literary significance at others. It was wild to read at this point in my life, because I tangentially know several of the people involved, and I was very aware that I was reading the subjective impression of just one person involved. But still, even if just taking the story as a work of fiction, it still presents an unbelievably compelling depiction of the creation of a piece of theater. The portrait it renders of Julie Taymor is simultaneously tragic, horrifying, and inspiring. She sometimes seems like the sole voice of integrity on the team, and then at the next moment seems like a bully unwilling to listen to anyone else. But then, when you least expect it, you realize she’s just one person, as vulnerable and as human as anyone else. The parallels that Glen Berger draws between her and the mythical figure of her obsession, Arachne, are chilling and heartbreaking. I will say, though I feel the author presents her in a multi-faceted light, I was still hyperaware that she was the ONLY woman on the creative team, and in the moments where she was portrayed as the belligerent genius who wouldn’t listen to reason, there did feel like there was a current of misogyny in the writing. I’m not sure if that’s fair. I don’t think mere criticism of a woman is problematic if her behavior or work warrants it, but it was still something I noticed, and something that I think would have been at least partially mediated if ANY of the people criticizing her had also been female. That caveat notwithstanding, I still found this book to be outrageously entertaining, thought-provoking, dramatic, funny, and sad. I highly recommend it, especially to anyone who works in any creative field.

[Gretchen Rubin]

A friend told me he was obsessed with this memoir, so of course I had to read it. It's an outstanding look at art, collaboration, vision, commerce, regret...loved it.

[Katy Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this show in the fall of 2013 with my dad (much to my 16-year-old chagrin), but my dad was quick to remind me that I can see Phantom of the Opera forever, but this would be our one and only chance to see Spider-man: Turn Off the Dark.
And boy am I glad we did.
Not that it was spectacular or anything, but that it was such a spectacle, and one so doomed to fail from the start (I mean, a MUSICAL for SPIDER-MAN?) that the likelihood of another production was so astronomically low (and remains that way).
This book sheds a whole new light on the psychedelic and inexplicable show we paid a measly $65/ticket to see that evening. And now, as a working actor, I can definitively say that I never want to be a part of any production remotely resembling this one.

[Sheldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Musical theatre is not my thing, I’ve watched many a show and other than The Book of Mormon there are not many that clicked with me, so it was fascinating to hear how productions are cobbled together. Glen Berger got the job as co-book writer as he was hired by Julie Taymor who had the clout but little interest in Spider-Man until she hears about the Greek mythology behind the tale of “Arachne” and from there on in she is obsessed with shoe-horning a version of the character into her story regardless if it makes sense (and everyone around her tells her it doesn’t or even worse is at detriment to the story structure of telling a enthralling Spider-Man story, yet she carries on regardless, she’s an artist after all and everything is about her vision).

It's clear that everyone went in hoping that they could pull a Spider-Man show off, but no one actually knew if it was even possible, even after millions and millions of dollars are been thrown at the thing and opening night just around the corner. Until the previews started the forward momentum was carried on everyone thinking Taymor was behind The Lion King production and that made mega-money so with Bono and Edge this surely will print money. (Spoiler: it didn't).
On the subject of Bono and Edge, I'm not the world's biggest U2 fan but it was crazy hearing how quick the two could pull songs together (even though none of the final versions do anything for me – there is a soundtrack recording if you are curious) and we get a behind the scenes look at how they create nonsensical lyrics they call “Bongolese” to be replaced with actual lyrics later once they have the music locked down. Bono comes across as a spectacular multi-tasker and Edge a decent bloke who genuinely wanted to put on the best show they could.

I have to assume that much of this is true as Glen Berger himself does not come off well out of this. He’s incredibly indecisive, extremely passive, sits on the fence and carries his fair share of blame to this fiasco. A lot of it surely was because of the weird way the contracts for these productions are done (if this is anything to go by) in terms of the acting/ stage people are paid a regular salary but the creatives get their cut/ payout on completion (and a hefty weekly cut of the takings as long as the show runs on Broadway) so if it all fell apart he wouldn't get the his pay out so he's all too willing to see Taymor hang herself on dumb decision after dumb decision (again this "Arachne" concept makes little sense as a hook to hang a multi-million dollar Spider-Man production when it should be aimed at the widest audience possible to meet the insane running costs and at one point someone attached to the show whose job was selling it to investors admits that the second act/ Arachne didn't made sense to him and he was trying to sell the bloody thing).

Glen Berger had front row seats to the whole crash and burn show (there are multiple times after Taymor's departure that I am amazed he too wasn't fired so producers could have a fresh start) and provides a minute-to-minute dissection in spectacular, jaw dropping, fashion including the many disasters that could have easily ended in at least one fatality.

Such a bizarre story. Highly recommended.

[Gina Dalfonzo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A flawed but fascinating tale of a Broadway musical gone horribly wrong, told by the playwright who helplessly watched it all happen. Berger is a compelling storyteller, and I would have given his story four stars, but for three things:

-- Excessive use of italics. This is very noticeable and jarring -- so jarring I can't believe his editor let it go by.

-- Uneven and sometimes solipsistic writing. I realize that for someone caught in the middle of this mess, detachment would be very hard to achieve, but sometimes the story is desperately in need of a little perspective. For instance, he gives us lots of details about inconsequential matters but glosses over major events like Julie Taymor's firing. In another example, describing stuntman Chris Tierney's horrific accident, Berger takes time to emphasize that it happened at the very spot that some guru or shaman or something had told him was full of "dark energy." Dude. You have a broken man lying at your feet. At this particular point in time, nobody cares about your dark energy, okay?

-- A truly tasteless (and barely coherent) one-liner about the hypothetical assassination of then-President Bush. I don't care what your political affiliations are, who the president is, or how you feel about him, there are lines you don't cross. That's one of them.

So, the final verdict is three stars instead of four.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty easy to see where in this book the author is being melodramatic about his six-year experience working on Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, a Broadway musical with so many highly publicized problems that the Onion published a news brief about a nuclear bomb accidentally going off during one of its rehearsals, and vaporizing Manhattan. It's also easy to see where Berger elides over some of his own contributions to the musical's problems, including repeatedly not speaking up for himself or going along with whoever had the strongest voice in the room. That said, this is a fascinating book. It's pretty instructive in the process that goes into creating a Broadway musical, and especially in working with a lot of high-powered egos and conflicting demands.

But it's also an intimate look into the problems that plagued the musical. People like me who were only vaguely aware of it through headlines about budget overruns and people being injured on set will find much, much more personal detail here about what went wrong and why, and how it happened, and what the creators were trying to do, and why they couldn't get there. It's also a prompt to look a little deeper into what they did accomplish. I was always kind of dismissive of the entire idea of this musical because the title sounds silly and the idea of a Spider-Man Broadway musical seems like yet another wearying attempt to draw franchises and spin-offs out of every possible familiar IP. But watching some of the video on YouTube of what they did accomplish onstage, I became pretty convinced that Berger was right, and that a lot of talent and ambition and good ideas went into this show, and that they were hamstrung by bad luck and a casually, thoughtlessly toxic response from the media — especially The New York Post's Michael Riedel, who here comes across as a slightly more evil version of Satan Incarnate.

I feel like I could use a second version of this story in this level of detail but from someone else's perspective, because as I say, Berger tends to cover his own ass or respond to drama with the outsized feelings of a theater kid. But still, I'm very glad I read this and know more about the story, and I'm still sorry I didn't get to see it, because as much as people seemingly hated Julie Taymor's original vision for the musical (which went through two radically different iterations, broken down in useful detail on Wikipedia), it sounds like it was really something to see.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Song of Spiderman" is an interesting memoir because it does not fall into the trap of many of that genre, with writing that goes, "I did this, and then this happened" etc. The transitions in the text are fluid, if not always chronological, and it is written in a very engaging colloquial style with some moments of real depth, and to top it all off it works.
The joy of this book is the gossipy behind the scenes aspect of it. Glen Berger is unabashed in giving the reader the truth behind the creative process that is always very carefully hidden from public view. The angles, backhandedness, and just general childishness that many of the text's key players display are mind boggling to read. You keep plowing through the book because you partially cannot believe what you are reading.
Mr. Berger is clearly very well read and his style is engaging, but one of the text's issues are the constant literary allusions strewn throughout. I don't mind them, but they feel forced some of the time. Almost like Berger wants to remind the reader that he is a smart man, and a writer. Mythological allusions abound in this book, and sometimes they work, and sometimes they don't
As already mentioned, "Song of Spiderman" is filled with many moments of real depth and insight. There was numerous times where I was struck by a sentiment or phrase. Just a sampling, "The deepest yearning of an artist is to communicate. And revenge is communication." When you read a line like that, you either completely understand it, or you don't. The text is (as the writer asserts over and over) merely a story, which is how we humans craft our lives, and I would also contend that like the best stories at its center are relationships. At one point Berger writes, "As soon as a relationship is built, we carry around the codes to atomize it." A sobering truth that, and the universality of human interactions are what make this text so enjoyable for most readers.
As a fun exercise I would encourage the reader to YouTube some videos of media interviews and behind the scenes footage of the musical while reading the book. It creates an interesting contrast between early interviews and those that happen after Julie Taymor left the production. It adds to the experience of reading this memoir.
Glen Berger is either a self deprecating truth teller, so honest that he is not afraid to make himself look bad or a devious sneak who knows how to manipulate his readers. After reading "Song of Spiderman" I am not sure which he is. And I'm fine with that.

[Ric · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m so glad this book exists, because I saw the show in previews way back when and I was half convinced it was a fever dream at this point in my life. But it’s also very clear that everyone involved with this show (including the author) was an egomaniac who had no clue about what a Spider-Man story should entail. Instead of creating a spectacle with classic characters, they for some reason added in a random made up Greek mythology character that was almost more important than Green Goblin or even Peter Parker.

But I’m not reviewing the show, because that would be 0 stars, so the book is a 4.

[Peter Adamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full disclosure: I was an usher for the full run of this show.

I know many (if not most) of the people described here, though not well.

More importantly, I was there for the final dress, for all the accidents, for the numerous rewrites, the new 2.0 preview period, the opening night, all recasting, and the closing. I was a witness to it all.

Of note: the night Chris Tierney fell into the pit was my first time ushering house right/front, and Dan Rather (who was sitting in my section) immediately ran up to me to ask what was wrong. Even I didn’t know! But we both knew it wasn’t good.

As one of my fellow ushers said: “well, it was a disaster, but it was OUR disaster.”

Well done Mr. Berger!

[Serena O'Connor · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jesus christ, his poor wife and kids, how embarrassing for them that this book exists. we live in a world where this kind of self deprecating honesty is lauded but he just comes across as a whiny spoiled kid with an inflated ego and no sense of decency or self-awareness. The books tries so hard, like so freaking hard, to be wise with all its literary allusions and dramatic cliffhanger chapter endings but a. he's. trying. too. hard, and b. the real takeaway of the book is that he's a misogynistic has-been writer who'll do anything to come out on top. His wife gets totally screwed and left behind with kids while he's off drooling over Julie Taymor -so gross and uncomfortable to read about btw - and then when Julie no longer lives up to his idolatry she gets screwed too. The only reason i didn't DNF this is because of other people's reviews saying he's well aware of the way he comes across so I was looking for some kind of redemption at the end, even a small nugget of understanding, but having actually finished the damn thing it's clear that that's exactly what he wanted people to think because it would save him a little from that being the actual truth. People think if they admit to being an asshole that at least their honesty redeems them. ((Lena Dunham, I'm lookin' at you, booboo.)But that's simply not true, and this is even worse. He doesn't actually think he's an asshole, in fact, he's rather full of himself, he just knows that if he "admits" to it, it'll win people over. Also, what a total cheapskate.

1 star for a somewhat interesting read and look into the mind of a raging narcissist under the guise of a dweeby "artsy" woody allen type.

[MJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is, without a doubt, the most entertaining nonfiction book I've ever read, and it is also completely B A N A N A S. I agree with Mer's statement that the writing itself is probably only worth a 3-star, but for sheer thrill value and the tale of how Patrick Page overcame severe depression to become the surrogate father of 30 cast members it's worth 12 stars.

If you aren't convinced to read this yet, just listen to this song (https://soundcloud.com/cruiseman/deep...) and know that refusing to cut this scene in which spider dancers with 8 plastic sexy lady legs put on high heels is literally the hill Julie Taymor chose to die on. Really. Julie Taymor, Tony winner, Oscar nominee, got fired from this show because she refused to cut "CAN YOU RESIST A SPIDER KISS???"

Read this book. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Enlighten yourself. Rise above.

[Patrick Book · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to know more about the story of this production, and it’s satisfying to see that pretty much literally everyone involved comes off like a real dumb dork. Especially Berger and Taymore.

[J.T. Wilson]

Strange that the endless iterations of The Play That Goes Wrong have never come after this: the director of the Lion King stage show and U2 having a go at writing a Spiderman musical, sure that they’re adding dark, cerebral grit to the concept. They act like they’re putting on ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, unaware that they’re actually staging ‘Plan 9 From Outer Space’. Catty commentators, completely unimpressed Marvel representatives, a tech spec that seems impossible to achieve and indifferent audience reviews all sow the seeds of division and conflict, and it isn’t long before everyone is queuing up at the bus lane, waiting to throw each other under the next set of wheels.

Berger is in theory the right person to tell this tale: as the co-writer of the original (play) book, and then the co-writer of the heavily revised second book, he was there the whole time, and his passivity means he’s almost an omnipresent narrator who occasionally gets involved with the action; in that way, I was reminded of the narrator in Dostoyevsky’s ‘Demons’ (another book in which poisonous gossip and scheming result in chaos). The book prints emails and SMSes and the verdicts of theatre reviewers. Of course, this means the tone is almost shamelessly gossipy and bitchy. How else to approach the material, given what it is: dirt-dishing on a silly superhero musical that was in previews for six months and got bad reviews? As Berger says: “It’s about a play. Just a play. Just a fucking play.”

[Anthony O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually paused a book by an author I love to read this bizarrely compelling story of a Broadway musical gone horribly wrong. At times funny, excruciating and familiar, it tells the tale of hubris and a desire to create good art, at the cost of sanity and safety.

A brisk but utterly engaging yarn.

[Blake Jarvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, more than I thought I would. Didn't think I would be a fan of Glen Berger's narration initially. I found his delivery and his thought process throughout to be heavily inspired by Woody Allen, which can be tiresome at times, but I came around to him throughout the audiobook.

I also sided with him more than I thought I would. Based off other reviews, the frequent note I see about Glen is that this book is more harmful to him and paints him in a negative light. I very much disagree with that notion. Obviously Glen was on this project every day for 5+ years, and without spoiling too much, another creative force couldn't get past their artistic intentions to realise the show was failing. I also think Glen did everything he could to tow the correct line, giving those involved every chance to change.

That's all I'll say for fear of ruining this for others. But if you're interested in either cinema or theatre production, this particular musical, the view of the artist vs. the corporate machine, this should be right up your alley.

[Dylynne Cosand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book! I love musical theater and I love Spider-man, so when I learned about the show, I was ecstatic! I was only three when previews for 1.0 began, and only 6 or seven when 2.0 was fully running, but I wish I could have seen it! I just went to New York recently for college auditions and sand If The World Should End!!

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable, extraordinary read and a real eye-opener for anyone who follows and/or engages in the Theatre. Mr. Berger does not hold back and retells the sad tale in brutal honesty.

[Maya · Rating 4 out of 5]

So clearly from Glen's specific biased perspective, but that's sort of what makes this such a fun read!

[jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonder. It is equal parts storytelling, an examination of group dynamics, a history of a very camp piece of Broadway theater, and so much more. It’s a tragic comedy that is almost told like true crime, but if the true crime was told by one of the perpetrators of the crime. I loved this. I listened to the audiobook, and I think this is probably equally great whether you read or listen to it.

[Faith Erin Hicks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyably trashy.

[Michael Legge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shame he dies in the end.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reading, but very frustrating at the same time. This is the "inside" story of the debacle that was the Spiderman musical-or at least, it's the book writer's very biased view of what happened and what went wrong.

What's frustrating is that the guy doesn't seem to GET it a lot of the time. Spiderman did not fail because the critics were mean, or they never could figure out how to get some of the set pieces to work, or because there were so many unfortunate accidents. It didn't make it because THE SHOW WAS BAD. BOTH versions-the infamous 1.0, and the "improved" 2.0. Look-I'll admit I never got the opportunity to see either version but after reading this, I've looked at clips online and I've listened the soundtrack. The music is AWFUL and I'm sorry, I know he's Broadway's new darling, but Reeve Carney's breathy whisper singing does nothing for me. And even on the SOUNDTRACK, the overpowering instruments drown out the singer to the point I can't understand the words, so I can imagine how well it worked in live theater.

And the story looks worse. Berger's basic thesis here is that version 1.0, Julie Taymor's version, failed because she was making Great Art, which is not Marvel or anyone else wanted. And then she was, perhaps fairly, perhaps not, fired when she refused to compromise and became impossible to work with. My own take? You can read between the lines-a number about the VILLAIN GOING SHOE SHOPPING. It's got a GEEK Chorus (Do you GET IT? Really, are you sure you GET THE SUBTLETY?) These are the hills Julie Taymor chose to die on. It's not that it failed because she was some misunderstood Mozart making Great Symphonies for the unappreciative public who wanted another Salieri, it's that she was making BAD Mozart. Here's my take on Julie Taymor having seen Titus, Tempest, etc. She's not a director. She's a very talented and overpaid set designer. She designs beautiful spectacles, but can't relate to actors or help them develop their characters for shit. She's more interested in her extravagant set design then telling a good story-yes I know the Lion King. Here's the thing-The Lion King is basically Hamlet with cute animals, and even Julie Taymor's epic ego doesn't allow for the possibility of improving on Hamlet. The Lion King succeeded because it didn't NEED her to understand anything about character, or acting, or plot. It just required pretty costumes and movement.

So, anyway, back to this book. It is an in depth exploration of what can only be described as a trainwreck from start to finish. And that is very interesting and very entertaining. Yes, I admit that there's more than a touch of Spidenfreude in how much I enjoyed reading about this disaster. It just could have been a much better book if the author had been willing to do less whining and buck passing and more in depth self reflection about his role in the disaster. So many times, he records how he thought this or that didn't sound good, but HE DIDN'T SPEAK UP. He's far from the only problem, but his passivity and Yes Man-ing is definitely ONE of the big problems. My favorite passage he complained about Michael Riedel of the New York Times calling him inexperienced or some such thing (unfortunately I didn't highlight the passage). And he mentions his off Broadway play and his multiple Emmys-and I looked it up and they are for CHILDREN'S TELEVISION EPISODES. And, not that that's not a valid art form. BUt it hardly proves you're qualified to write the book for the most expensive musical in Broadway history, dude.

Anyway, the book is definitely worth reading if you are into Broadway, and especially Broadway flops. It just could have reached higher and become a tale for non-Broadway fans of art gone wrong, but like the musical it's based on, it lacks the appeal to transcend genre to a larger audience.

[Travis Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s not often I read a book twice. But I couldn’t resist reading this one a second time. Well…I technically didn’t read it. I listened to the audiobook as read by author Glen Berger.

A delicious tell-all of the disastrous process of putting Spider-Man onto the Broadway stage. This book digs deep and is so well written, with Berger dishing so much “tea” and drama.

Even though he doesn’t always write himself in the best of light, there are moments you can sympathize with Berger. He makes it seem as if parts of the novel are an apology. Not only to the poor people who had to endure watching the show, or the cast and crew, but an apology to the one person he feels guilty about the most: director Julie Taymor. It’s about collaboration and friendship and their ultimate and unfortunate demise.

I did actually get to see the 2.0 version of “Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark” years ago. It was fine, but hardly memorable. To me, knowing its history, it felt like a production with a sordid, dark cloud hovering over it. I’m sad I didn’t get to see the infamous 1.0 version before Taymor was fired. I know it was flawed, but ultimately I think I would have enjoyed it more.

A definite read, especially for fans of Broadway and its rich history.

[Danny Kapinos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was not just one of the best books about the theatre I've ever read, it's also one of the most thrilling books I've ever read. Reading the story behind Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, as chronicled by the show's own book writer, is the most cathartic experience I've had in months. All the struggles every theatre artist has faced--from the terror of being unable to raise enough money to create your project to the banality of moving through tech so slowly that time seems to move backward (not to mention the egos and personalities!)--imagine the worst, most painful version, and what happened on Spiderman makes that look quaint. Right from the beginning, when the creative team is in a conference room signing their contracts, full of dreams and nothing but high hopes, their producer has a seizure and dies on the spot. Like a perfect Greek tragedy, you can't tell if the characters in this book are cursed or if their lack of humility is creating their inevitable downfalls. This musical made headlines for the near-fatal injury of a cast member, but that event hardly makes the list of the top ten "WTF?!" moments in this book. The story is so engrossing and un-put-down-able that I can't believe nobody had recommended it to me yet. This is a book I know I'm going to come back to every time I'm in the middle of a trying tech process (and what tech process isn't trying?). I'm recommending it to everyone I know in the theatre and also to everyone I know who isn't in the theatre.

[Jeff Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, because of the writing. It is well laid out; He is funny and sharp.

I was surprised this got so many mediocre to bad reviews? A lot of people called Glen Berger a bad writer? I don't know, I had a tough time seeing that. But I am not a literary scholar. I can't imagine what these critics would say about the slop I put out. There is no way Berger is a bad writer.
They also accuse Berger of cashing in on others expense: like you would not after 6 years of torture! he was not apid for 6 years! I think Berger writes with empathy.
I does not bash anyone. Ironically I was told to read this book because an agent suggested I write the story of how my self-polished (typo laded) book, got made it to Hollywood, (THis IS THat Productions) and eventually released by Lions Gate (American loser) and the book eventually picked up by Major publisher (Simon and Schuster) and the stupid film was on HBO last night! FEb3) I tried to write a comedy and it was made into a tragedy, if I write a book I am going to use a sledge hammer, not because I want to but I cant write with the nuance/humanity of Berger. Here is an article I wrote on what it is like to be the subject of an indie catastrophe. file:///C:/Users/adpub.AMAG/AppData/L...

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mercilessly entertaining, deeply sad telling of a creative dream deferred. "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" was a "circus rock-and-roll drama" infamous as the biggest flop in Broadway history. Even as it set records for attendance and box office, it couldn't repay its debts from years of delays and technical catastrophes.

Glen Berger was the show's co-bookwriter with director Julie Taymor, and part of the tight-knit creative team with Bono and the Edge (who come across as the most down-to-earth, hardworking people). He never places blame on anyone except himself...well, and Taymor, reluctantly. The show was cursed by cthonic forces and by the paradoxically repressive freedom of an unlimited budget and no deadlines. At heart, this is a workplace drama with very good and very bad examples of collaboration and leadership.

[Chris Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. A hyper-gossipy memoir that contains some really interesting stuff about just what goes into creating a project this big and also reads as a defense of the author's involvement every step along the way. Also it's truly amazing this musical a) Ever existed in the first place - Greek myths and U2 wedged into a superhero musical? and b) Lasted as long as it did.

Made me really want to go see a show, though. Sigh.