'SPIDEY' SENSES TINGLING
SNEAK PEEK AT B'WAY COMIC THRILLER



WHAT do you call a $40 million theatrical extravaganza that features gigantic, perspective-skewing sets, 3-D projections, more aerial acrobatics than Cirque du Soleil, a cast of heroes and villains from Marvel comic books and a rock score by Bono and The Edge?

The phrase "Broadway musical" doesn't seem grand enough to convey the size and scope of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," which is due to open in New York at the Hilton Theater in January 2010.

And, in fact, its director, Julie Taymor, who staged "The Lion King," recently warned a group of theater insiders to steer clear of the word "musical."

Spider-Man, she added, "is not going to sing and dance in tights."

A better description of her show, she suggested, is a "circus rock-'n'-roll drama."

Taymor, Bono and The Edge lifted the curtain a bit on "Spider-Man" this week for an audience of ticket brokers and group-sales agents. The event was closed to the press, but like any good reporter from The Daily Bugle, I managed to finagle a ticket.

The stage version of "Spider-Man" will be nothing like the movie franchise, Taymor said, adding that she drew on the old Marvel comics for the story and production design.

"Our show is going to have a comic-book, pop-up sensibility," she said.

The sets, drawings of which were on display, are brightly colored and enormous. The Chrysler Building, the Brooklyn Bridge and The Daily Bugle Building all figure prominently, their perspective skewed to match Spider-Man's shifting viewpoint as he soars through the city.

Peter Parker is at the center of the story, surrounded by a bunch of nerdy friends, a sort of "geek chorus," said bookwriter Glen Berger.

As Spider-Man, Peter clashes with a parade of Marvel villains -- Green Goblin, Carnage, Electro, Rhino, Swarm and Lizard.

Berger and Taymor have invented a new baddie for the show -- Swiss Miss, whose costume, designed by Oscar winner Eiko Ishioka ("Bram Stoker's Dracula"), consists of rotating knives and swirling corkscrews.

Five young singers performed six songs from the show, including the haunting "Rise Above," which is as good as any rock ballad in "Rent."

The kid who sang that song, Reeve Carney, fluttered the hearts of all ladies in the auditorium. He seemed to have impressed Bono as well, and is said to be the leading contender to play Peter Parker.

Bono said he decided to write for the stage after attending a dinner honoring Andrew Lloyd Webber.

"I'd like to thank so many people," Bono quoted Lloyd Webber as saying. "But in particular, I'd like to thank rock musicians for leaving me alone for 25 years. I've had the theater all to myself."

Bono added, "We've decided to give Andrew a little competition."

michael.riedel@nypost.com

source: nypost