Turn Off The Dark

One of my Christmas gifts was a pair of tickets to see the Spiderman show on Broadway. I guess this is going to turn into a review.

I’m a big fan of superheroes. There’s just something about those muscular bodies running around in tights, saving the world that I enjoy. The superhero concept must appeal to a vast majority of people or its allure would not have endured over the centuries. Who wouldn’t wish that Superman was real, watching over Gotham?

The show didn’t get very good reviews but I still went in with an open mind. The reviews were right. Mostly. First let me say certain aspects of it were amazing. The set, the costumes and especially the acrobatics were fantastic. I’m thinking the kids sitting in the balcony got a big thrill when Spiderman swung up there.

The bad? Well the actors did the best they could with what they had but the plot – could have been better, especially the first half. I won’t even talk about one plot element that was ridiculous & unnecessary. And the music? Really Bono? That was the best you could do? There was only one good song in the lot.

In spite of all that, when the cast came out at the end, they got a standing ovation. In my mind, I always thought that was reserved for performances that were truly outstanding. These days it seems every single show ends with a standing ovation. Every single one. Hasn’t that made it kind of meaningless?

It was still a fun evening out. We don’t seem to get out nearly often enough. I think that has to change.