While Spider-Man is wildly popular on the big screen, the same cannot be said for all forms of live action adaptation. Perhaps the most notable example of a miss of the iconic Marvel character Spider-Man: Turn off the dark, the disastrous Broadway musical that only lasted three years and was widely regarded as a major flop. But now the ill-fated musical is making headlines again, this time thanks to Rep. George Santos. According to Bloomberg (via Rolling stone), the Long Island congressman told campaign donors that he had been a producer on the musical – a claim that is untrue.
According to the report, Santos claimed to be a producer on the 2011 musical, which eventually closed in 2014, but the office of the musical’s lead producer, Michael Cohl, confirmed that Santos never worked as a producer on the show. Santos’ name also never appeared on any posters for the show.
Spider-Man: Turn off the dark debuted on Broadway in 2011 and featured music and lyrics from Bono and the Edge and a book by Julie Taymor, Glen Berger, and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. The musical contained elements from 2002 Spider-Man film and that of 2004 spiderman 2, but never really got off to a good start. The musical was plagued with actor injuries and negative reviews, going so far as to set the record for the longest preview period in Broadway history at 182 performances. When the musical officially opened, reviews were slightly better than during its preview, but reception was still mixed. It ended up being the most expensive Broadway production in history, and when it closed three years later, it did so at a huge financial loss. After the show’s closure on Broadway, it was announced that it would move to Las Vegas, but no such move materialized.
As for Santos, the congressman himself has recently made headlines for a number of claims he has made about his education, work history, and campaign financing details. It’s not clear why he would allegedly claim the Spider-Man musical as part of his record as well, but a spokesperson for the show made it clear that Santos was not involved in any way.
“Of all the trials and tribulations the producers of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark had to endure, we are very happy, proud and relieved to report that working with George Santos was not one of them,” said Rick Miramontez. Weekly entertainment.
