If you follow Broadway at all, then you've heard about the problem-plagued Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, the ambitious new musical based on Marvel Comics' web-slinging, wall-crawling superhero that's been trying to get off the ground... and has suffered some serious setbacks.
Directed by Julie Taymor, with music by Bono and The Edge of U2, the production has made headlines for its ballooning budget, technical difficulties, scary on-stage injuries and some tepid early reviews.
Most recently, the show lost its lead actress, Natalie Mendoza, who left the musical last week to continue recovering from a concussion she sustained during the show's first preview performance in November when a rope struck her backstage. Ouch. So Spider-Man is getting a new lead villainess...Producers recently announced that cast member T.V. Carpio will be stepping into the lead role of Arachne, the villianous spider-woman (a character Taymor created for the musical): 'Spider-Man' Gets a New Lead Actress.
Check out this recent 60 Minutes segment on Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark, where you can see some behind-the-scenes cast rehearsal footage of T.V. Carpio singing alongside none other than Bono:
Ms. Carpio had been playing another character, Miss Arrow (a member of show's "Geek Chorus"), and actually played Arachne -- to great acclaim, apparently -- at several preview performances last month:
Ms. Carpio had been playing the character Miss Arrow, one of four members of the musical's so-called Geek Chorus - a group of comic-book fans who act as narrators during parts of the show. Ms. Carpio played Arachne at several previews last month, as had Ms. Mendoza's understudy, America Olivo, who will continue in that capacity.You might remember her as Prudence in Julie Taymor's Beatles movie musical Across the Universe -- her solo performance of "I Want To Hold Your Hand" is lovely and heartbreaking. She's also got a great supporting role in Spike Lee's crime drama Sucker Free City.
"T.V. is a superb singer and actress whom I've loved since we worked together on 'Across the Universe,'" said Julie Taymor, the musical's director, in the statement, referring to the 2007 musical movie that Ms. Taymor also directed.
Ms. Carpio made her Broadway debut in 2006 as a member of the ensemble in "Rent."
T.V. Carpio will make her official debut as Arachne tonight, with Spring Awakening's Alice Lee replacing her in the role of Miss Arrow. The show officially opens on February 7. More here: New Lead Actress Named for Broadway's 'Spider-Man'.