Could the musical Spider-Man be the 'biggest disaster in Broadway history'?

Spiraling costs and technical disasters have generated the wrong kind of buzz. Will anything go right for this $65 million show?

The musical will be roughly based on the plot from the first Spider-Man movie, but will also feature a number of new villians.
(Image credit: spidermanonbroadway.marvel.com)

Three weeks ago, Broadway's troubled production of "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" suffered its most serious setback yet when stuntman Christopher Tierney fell "20 to 30 feet" to the stage during a preview performance, suffering a skull fracture and cracked vertebrae. Since then, actress Natalie Mendoza, who plays the newly invented character Arachne — and who had also been injured on set at one point — quit the show altogether. And this week, The New Yorker poked fun at the injury-plagued production with a cover featuring "a hospital wing populated by convalescing Spideys." Yet Monday brought one important piece of good news for "Spider-Man:" The show is attracting record crowds. The New York Times reports that "Spider-Man" topped perennial favorite "Wicked" as the highest-grossing production on Broadway last week, making close to $1.6 million. Does this mean that, despite all the missteps, the show might actually become a hit? Here's an instant guide to this high-budget, high-risk gamble of a production:

What is Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark?

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