So My Friend Bill and I Went to See 'Spider-Man' . . .

IT seems so long ago. Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett died. Sonia Sotomayor was being considered for the Supreme Court. "The Hangover" was the

FEAR OF FLYING Cast members at a recent "Spider-Man" curtain call include, from right, Patrick Page, Jennifer Damiano, Reeve Carney and T.V. Carpio.

surprise movie hit of the summer. And it was announced that the incredible Alan Cumming would star as the monster villain, the Green Goblin, in a Broadway musical called "Spider-Man." With music by Bono and the Edge of U2!

Ah, yes, it was June 2009. And my friend Bill, who had moved back to New York from Southern California, laid claim to be my guest whenever I received press tickets to the show. Little did we know what a long wait that would be. And that Alan Cumming would be long gone.

A full two years later, last Friday night, Bill and I finally saw "Spider-Man," now "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" at the Foxwoods Theater. In between, the show had become the best-known musical in the world, for the worst of reasons. They kept extending the preview period (normally it's a few weeks). Cast members started getting hurt -- badly -- when doing the production's tricky flying scenes. The cost hit $65 million (or is it $70 million by now?).

Finally, in March, the producers fired Julie Taymor, the director, whose ambitious vision had been the show's engine. This was after many influential theater critics had given up waiting for an official opening night and gone ahead and reviewed the show as it was. Their collective verdict: A disaster.

So "Spider-Man" shut down for a few weeks and did some reworking, and the show finally opened last Tuesday. Anticlimactically.

And so there Bill and I were, in Row H. The show started. Some mean guys were bullying scrawny loser Peter Parker (Reeve Carney) at school. Peter was bitten by a radioactive spider on a class field trip. He morphed into a superhero, won the love of Mary Jane (Jennifer Damiano, who long ago replaced Evan Rachel Wood, originally announced for the role) and fought the Green Goblin (played by Patrick Page).

The song Carney and Damiano performed on the Tonys is, sadly, the show's best number. It's pleasant, but that's about it. God knows we're all in favor of safety, but the wires and cables now are so big and bulky that there's no thrill when any character flies. The aerial fight between Spider-Man and the Green Goblin was kind of entertaining. And it was a cute surprise when the audience was showered with spider-web-stuff. But every time I applauded, it was because the song was over, not because it had thrilled me in any way.

Nobody is terrible. Everybody is at least competent. God knows it's no worse than "Baby, It's You!" or "The People in the Picture," but at least those shows had stars who transcended their material.

I hope, for the sake of the people involved in "Spider-Man," that the show runs a long time. But the only way to be impressed by this production is never to have seen a professional piece of musical theater before. Maybe the world is full of enough people in that category, but the sad thing is that if "Spider-Man" is their first show, it may also be their last, because they'll never know how magical theater can be.

"Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," by Bono, the Edge, Julie Taymor, Glen Berger and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; original direction by Taymor; creative consultant, Philip William McKinley; Foxwoods Theater, 213 West 42nd Street; (877) 250-2929, ticketmaster.com. Opening night: June 14, 2011.


WANT MORE THEATERGOSSIP? Scroll to check out some bests and worsts of this year's Tonys. Then search to read about Carney, Page, Damiano, Taymor and various actors, directors and playwrights like Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Emma Rice, Edward Albee and Lynn Nottage, who were not associated with "Spider-Man."

Afterthoughts: More Tonys Bests and Worsts

ON Tony Awards night, June 12, we were all pretty sure who would win most of the awards. But we didn't know what everybody was going to wear and say. Some significant successes and failures:

WORST FASHION CHOICE Frances McDormand's denim jacket (above). Have a little respect, Franny. Even the "South Park" boys dressed up.

Runner-Up: Whoopi Goldberg's Christopher Columbus hat.


BEST FASHION CHOICE Catherine Zeta-Jones's sparkly red, long-sleeved, gorgeously backless gown.

Runners-Up: Brooke Shields's strapless celadon, Sutton Foster's strapless moss green, Ellen Barkin's sparkly black with long, sheer sleeves.


BEST ACCEPTANCE SPEECH Nikki M. James, best featured actress in a musical ("The Book of Mormon"), on how bumblebees can fly. She cried too.

Runner-Up: Mark Rylance, best actor in a play ("Jerusalem"), on the joys of walking through walls. He would have won, except he's done the poetry thing before.


BEST PRESENTER PRE-CHAT James Earl Jones. Only he could make this kind of copy ("The theater is a shrine") sound like Shakespeare.

WORST HAIR Christie Brinkley. At first we thought Malibu Barbie. Then we recognized it: Connie Stevens, circa 1964. (And we haven't even mentioned her presentation style. Is Christie taking acting lessons with somebody from QVC?)

BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP Edie Falco.

BEST CHARACTERIZATION OF LARRY KRAMER "The great badass of the American theater." (Coined by John Benjamin Hickey, winning best featured actor in a play for "The Normal Heart.")

BEST OF NEIL PATRICK HARRIS'S "SPIDER-MAN" JOKES " I sent Bono a congratulatory cable, but it snapped."

MOST SCANDALOUS SHORT SHRIFT The playwright Athol Fugard, recipient of a special Tony, given only the few seconds on screen in which he said: "Thank you, South Africa. Thank you, America."

MOST UNLIKELY USE OF THE WORD "AWESOME" Joel Grey introducing Sutton Foster for her "Anything Goes" number. (Not that she isn't. But shouldn't a 79-year-old man say "undeniably great" or "the cat's pajamas" or something?)

BEST GAY JOKE BY A STRAIGHT MAN Robin Williams, as a presenter: "This is an incredible room. The only beard here is on my face."

WANT MORE THEATERGOSSIP? Scroll to read about the Top 10 Fabulous Moments at this year's Tonys. Then search to read more about lots of Tony winners, including "War Horse," "The Book of Mormon," Sutton Foster, Mark Rylance and Frances McDormand.

Top 10 Fabulous Moments at the 2011 Tonys

"I'M teen heartthrob Neil Patrick Harris."

Once they heard that opening line, theater fans knew that the 65th Annual Tony Awards, held last night at the Beacon Theater in New York, were going to be fun. Someone finally realized that devoted theater people are a fairly sophisticated, open-minded bunch; told the standards-and-practices people at CBS to relax; and gave us a show that rocked.

Here are some of our favorite moments, in alphabetical order.*

* (Old-fashioned alphabetical order. By last names, not first. Not counting the The's or A's. Take that, Facebook. And the paid ABC theater listings in The New York Times.)


1. "BROTHERHOOD OF MAN"
The show stopper from "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" proved that Daniel Radcliffe's not having been nominated was a disgrace. And that Rob Ashford's choreography is better than antidepressants.


2. "DON'T BREAK THE RULES"
This big number from "Catch Me if You Can" is still the best thing about the show. And so is Norbert Leo Butz, who won later in the evening for best featured actor in a musical.


3. DUELING HOSTS
Harris and Hugh Jackman (above) did a number about each man's superiority as an awards-show host that turned into an anything-you-can-do parody/medley. The "A Boy Like That" exchanges were funny, but the dance moves from "A Chorus Line" were priceless. "I only play the big rooms," said Jackman, alluding to the show's move to the intimate Beacon Theater from Radio City Music Hall.


4. SUTTON FOSTER (ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF)
We were happy that Foster turned her performance as Reno Sweeney in "Anything Goes" into the award for best lead actress in a musical. But we couldn't have loved her more when she got teary because her dresser was leaving her -- moving to Cape Cod to pursue his dream of becoming an artist.


5. "I BELIEVE"
Andrew Rannells sang to God, the universe and a homicidal, baby-raping African war lord about the joys of blind faith and reminded us just how inspired "The Book of Mormon" was. And why it deserved the nine Tonys it took home.

6. JOEY THE HORSE
He only had a few seconds' stage time, but when Joey, the life-size horse puppet that breathes like a creature with a soul, teasingly head-bumped his human co-star, Seth Numrich, he won our hearts all over again. Those of us who've seen the show wanted to rush back. Those who haven't are begging for tickets already.


7. THE OPENING NUMBER
Surrounded by sailors, nuns, missionaries and stewardesses, Harris rhymed "breeders" with "theater" and sang a welcome to straight people. The theater, the song declared, is "not just for gays anymore."


8. CHRIS ROCK
"This is a waste of time. It's like taking a hooker to dinner," said Rock, who was called on to present the award for best musical, a foregone conclusion. We also enjoyed Rock's comment that he remembered the first Broadway musical he'd ever seen "like it was yesterday, because it was yesterday."


9. BROOKE SHIELDS
She screwed up her part in the opening number, a two-line bit about someone sending her a Twitter picture of his crotch. So when she got up later to present an award, she started out with a self-deprecating remark: "I can do eight shows a week, but I can't read a Teleprompter." Then promptly forgot where she was, tossed out a four-letter word and got bleeped. We love her.


10. "SIDE BY SIDE BY SIDE"
The Philharmonic concert version of "Company," which starred Harris as the quintessential 1970s bachelor, played only three nights. But at least we got to see this one number. Did we mention that Harris's co-stars include Patti LuPone, Stephen Colbert, Christina Hendricks, Jon Cryer and Martha Plimpton? And a filmed version is playing at movie theaters, beginning June 15.


WANT MORE THEATERGOSSIP? Scroll to read our Tonys predictions (we got 'em all except Nikki M. James and Mark Rylance). Then search to read about winners, losers and presenters from the season past and beyond, including Lily Rabe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Larry Kramer and Al Pacino.

It's That Special Time Again: theatergossip.com's Tony Predictions 2011

HAPPY Tonys night, theater lovers!

The big show, the 65th Annual Antoinette Perry Awards ceremony, starts at 8 p.m. at the Beacon Theater on the Upper West Side of New York. (Just across from Fairway, which is convenient if anyone on the red carpet wants some fresh produce at reasonable prices. And having attended a few Tony evenings in the past, theatergossip.com can tell you that about an hour into the show, it feels like a long time until the post-awards dinner.)

If you're watching from home, tune in to the telecast on CBS, also beginning at 8. If you want to get an earlier start, the awards' official site, tonyawards.com, will begin its live webcast at 6 p.m. and then update live throughout the evening. (Attention, New Yorkers with cable: NY1 begins its Tonys preview show at 6 p.m.) Theatergossip.com will be back tomorrow with a report on the highlights. For now, here are our official predictions:


THE BIGGIES

BEST MUSICAL "The Book of Mormon"

BEST PLAY "War Horse"

BEST REVIVAL OF A MUSICAL "Anything Goes"

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY "The Normal Heart"

[AND IF SO, WHO'S GETTING ROBBED: "Good People," which deserves the best play award. "War Horse" deserves best production, which is a totally different animal.]


THE LEAD ACTING AWARDS

BEST ACTOR IN A MUSICAL Norbert Leo Butz, "Catch Me if You Can"

BEST ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Sutton Foster, "Anything Goes"

BEST ACTOR IN A PLAY Joe Mantello, "The Normal Heart"

BEST ACTRESS IN A PLAY Frances McDormand, "Good People"

[GETTING ROBBED? Butz is fabulous and deserves a major prize, but so does Daniel Radcliffe, making his Broadway debut in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," who was scandalously not even nominated. Brian Bedford is remarkable in "The Importance of Being Earnest," but he shouldn't have been nominated in a leading-role category. And McDormand gives a knockout performance, but didja see Lily Rabe's Portia in "The Merchant of Venice"?]


THE SUPPORTING ACTORS

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL John Larroquette, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying"

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL Laura Benanti in "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"

BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A PLAY John Benjamin Hickey, "The Normal Heart"

BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY Ellen Barkin, "The Normal Heart"

[GETTING ROBBED? All deserving winners, but we hate to see these people go home without awards: Edie Falco for "The House of Blue Leaves," Victoria Clark for "Sister Act," Yul Vazquez for "The Motherfucker With the Hat," Judith Light for "Lombardi."]


. . . AND THE DIRECTORS

BEST DIRECTOR OF A PLAY Joel Grey and George C. Wolfe, "The Normal Heart"

BEST DIRECTOR OF A MUSICAL Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker, "The Book of Mormon"

[GETTING ROBBED? Rob Ashford, who makes "How to Succeed" a peak life experience.]


WANT MORE THEATERGOSSIP? Scroll to read about this week's Gossip Girl and Guy, Carey Mulligan in "Through a Glass Darkly" and John Larroquette (Tony nominee) in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Then search to read about stars and shows including Sutton Foster, Frances McDormand, Lily Rabe, Brian Bedford, Mark Rylance, Josh Gad, "Anything Goes," "The Book of Mormon" and "The Normal Heart."

Gossip Guy of the Week: John Larroquette

June 11, 2011

THE Tony Awards are less than 36 hours away, and John Larroquette stands a good chance of taking home the prize for outstanding featured actor in a musical.

He sings. He dances. He runs a giant midcentury corporation. He gets corporate-ladder-screwed by cute Daniel Radcliffe (with him, left). Larroquette won the Drama Desk Award in the same category just a few weeks ago. But what does he care? He has a house full of acting awards already.

CURRENT GIG Rob Ashford's joyous Broadway revival of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," as J. B. Biggley, the C.E.O. of World Wide Wickets.

AGE 63.

BORN AND RAISED New Orleans.

ALMA MATER Rather than going to college, he went to work as a disc jockey.

AVAILABILITY Married (since 1975), with children.

BEST KNOWN AS The adorably despicable, egotistical, womanizing Assistant D. A. Dan Fielding on the 1980s sitcom "Night Court." He won four consecutive Emmy Awards for the role, then asked that his name be removed from consideration.

BROADWAY DEBUT "How to Succeed" is it.

FILM ROLE OF HIS YOU PROBABLY DON'T REMEMBER Narrator of "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" (1974).

CUTE QUOTE "Dan Fielding could not exist in the real world," he told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans in 1988. "He would have been killed a long time ago."


"How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," by Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, directed by Rob Ashford, Al Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com. Opening night: March 27, 2011.

WANT MORE THEATERGOSSIP? Scroll to read about Carey Mulligan's amazing performance in "Through a Glass Darkly." Then search to read about stage stars like Laurie Metcalf, Edie Falco, Sean Hayes, Brian Bedford and Liza Minnelli. And about this year's Broadway hits, including "The Book of Mormon," "The Normal Heart," "Anything Goes" and "Good People."

Gossip Girl of the Week: Carey Mulligan

Updated June 7, 2011

JUST when you thought you couldn't see another actress going insane onstage and find it fresh and surprising, even devastating, along comes young Ms. Carey Mulligan. No wonder The New York Times calls her "almost freakishly talented." And her current director compares her to Vanessa Redgrave.

CURRENT GIG The Atlantic Theater Company production of "Through a Glass Darkly" (above, with Jason Butler Harner as her husband), based on Ingmar Bergman's 1961 film about a young woman, fresh from a mental institution, on a family vacation, hearing voices.

WHAT THE TIMES THOUGHT "We in the audience can only look on . . . in the awe that comes with witnessing the pure, blazing conviction that is a part of both true madness and greatness in art." Ms. Mulligan "more than confirms her promise as one of the finest actresses of her generation." ("Under Pretty Skin, Birdlike Sounds of Madness")

AGE 26.

BORN AND RAISED Born in London. Grew up in Germany, where her father was an InterContinental Hotels executive.

ALMA MATER None. She claims to have been rejected by both RADA and the Central School of Speech and Drama.

AVAILABILITY Single. She has been linked romantically with Shia LaBeouf and Eddie Redmayne.

BEST KNOWN FOR Her Oscar-nominated role as a high school girl in love with an older man in "An Education" (2009).

BROADWAY DEBUT "The Seagull" (2008). She played Nina, the ambitious young actress.

FIRST JOB EVER "Pride and Prejudice" (2005). She played the shy Kitty Bennet.

WEIRD CELEBRITY CONNECTION Her father was delivered by Paul McCartney's mother, who was a midwife in Liverpool.

NEXT BIG THING Playing Daisy Buchanan to Leonardo DiCaprio's Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's remake of "The Great Gatsby."

CUTE QUOTE "I still have days when I genuinely cannot act. There's a scene in every film which I look back on and think, 'That was the day I couldn' act.' " (In "Never Let Me Go," she says, it's the scene on the beach with Keira Knightley.)*

* "A Modern Movie Star Is Born," Xan Brooks, The Guardian, Jan. 22, 2011

"Through a Glass Darkly," by Jenny Worton, directed by David Leveaux, New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth Street, (212) 279-4200, atlantictheater.org. Opening night: June 6, 2011.

WANT MORE THEATERGOSSIP? Scroll on to read about the 2010-11 Commy Awards winners (one post and an addendum). Then search to read about New York stage notables like Brian Bedford, Laurie Metcalf, Josh Gad, Nicole Kidman, Cherry Jones, Mark Rylance, Lynn Nottage and Edward Albee.

Breaking News: Commy Awards Follow-Up

YOU probably thought the 2010-11 Commy Awards excitement was over. But because of the theatergossip.com staff's pressing (and disorganized) travel plans in late May, several winners were inadvertently omitted from our original awards post. With sincere apologies and belated congratulations to these talented artists, here is an addendum:

EDUCATING BILLIE Leonard and Arianda as teacher and student in the revival of Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday."

BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN
FABULOUS "MAD MEN"-ERA CLOTHES Judith Light in "Lombardi."

BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY NO ONE REALIZED WAS GREAT THE FIRST TIME AROUND "The Normal Heart"

BEST ONE-MAN SHOW THAT NONE OF THE BROADWAY CROWD SAW "Mike Birbiglia's My Girlfriend's Boyfriend"

BEST UNSUNG COUPLE IN A REVIVAL OF A PLAY Nina Arianda and Robert Sean Leonard in the Judy Holliday and William Holden roles in "Born Yesterday"

BEST SET DESIGN EVOKING EXTREME WEATHER AT A TIME WHEN NEW YORKERS WERE SICK OF EXTREME WEATHER Tom Pye for "John Gabriel Borkman"

BEST COSTUME DESIGN IN AN OTHERWISE MISGUIDED PRODUCTION Ann Hould-Ward for "A Free Man of Color"


WANT MORE THEATERGOSSIP? Scroll on to read about the rest of the 2010-11 Commy Awards winners. Then search to read about shows including "The Book of Mormon" and "Anything Goes" and stars including Daniel Radcliffe and James Franco.