WTF…$50 Million?

In case you haven't heard, U2's Bono and The Edge have teamed up with well-known director Julie Taymor (Lion King, Across the Universe) to create Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, a musical based off of the Marvel Comic superhero. Sounds exciting, right? So when can we see it?

Unfortunately, the show has had a hard time getting up off the ground. Expected to cost about $50 million, producers are finding it difficult to put the show up.

That's right. $50 million to produce this shabang. WTF?

Now, I love a good show with lots of visual wizardry (just as long as the content is strong). In fact, the sheer idea that it will cost so much to produce gets me intrigued. But during times where unemployment is skyrocketing and people are struggling to make ends meet, I wonder if my need to be swept away by a show's grandeur is just plain gluttonous.

Audiences naturally want to be impressed. But these days, it seems so much more important than the content. The most successful shows on Broadway have been driven by spectacle. Opulent musicals like Wicked and Phantom of the Opera have stood the tests of time. But is all the crazy theatricality necessary for a good time?

For $15, I saw a show entitled Thirst at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and found myself really enjoying the visual and audio content. Obviously their budget was limited, but they did some really interesting work. I found joy in their small-scale production, and isn't that what it's all about? No one wants to go see a show and find out that they didn't get their money's worth.

Theaters in general operate as business, looking to appease potential customers. So if anything, the fault is with the demands of the people. We constantly seek cutting-edge visual effects that will let us escape reality for a bit. Things were simply more impressive when we were kids, and even I find myself wishing I could fulfill that feeling of wonder in the same way again. But does it have to mean searching for something so over-the-top?

Now back to Spider-Man. $50 million — really? It's only inevitable that tickets will reach ghastly prices, and this makes me wonder if costs end up driving people away to begin with. Ticket prices are always an issue, but that is our own faults. We want the best of the best, and you can't get any of that for free. If only we stop putting so much emphasis on lavish productions, we can find joy in theater again without hurting our pockets.