NEW YORK - The producers of Broadway musical "Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark" on Friday set a new opening night of June 14 for the spectacle that has been panned by critics but unbowed at box offices.
To meet the date, producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris said in a statement that preview performances have been canceled between April 19 and May 11 for more rehearsing.
The announcement comes only two days after Cohl and Harris shook up the show by hiring a new creative team and relieving director Julie Taymor of her daily duties.
The move was a blow to Taymor's reputation as a visionary because her stage version of "The Lion King" had been a massive hit and a successful "Spider-Man," which at $65 million is the most expensive show ever on the Great White Way, would have furthered her fame.
But the show with music written by U2's Bono and the Edge has suffered several setbacks in its long trek to the stage.
There were problems in financing and development. In some early preview performances, the show was stopped and actors performing aerial stunts were left suspended in mid-air.
In December, a stuntman was injured when he fell from a high platform on the stage, and one actress suffered a concussion when she was hit by a rope while offstage. The injuries caused officials to order new safety rules.
The show's official opening was delayed so many times that critics gave up waiting and reviewed the show anyway, with many lambasting it. The New York Times concluded it was "so grievously broken that it is beyond repair."
But fans seem to love it, judging by the box office. "Spider-Man" took in $1.28 million last week, for instance, as tourists and others flock to the spectacle.
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