Song of Spider-Man

The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History

By: Glen Berger

Narrated by: Glen Berger

“One of the best literary works of this year” (Miami Herald-Tribune): The true story of a theatrical dream—or nightmare—come true…the making of the Spider-Man musical.

As you might imagine, writing a Broadway musical has its challenges. But it turns out there are challenges one can’t begin to imagine when collaborating with two rock legends and a superstar director to stage the biggest, most expensive production in theater history. Renowned director Julie Taymor picked playwright Glen Berger to cowrite the book for a $25 million Spider-Man musical. Together—along with U2’s Bono and Edge—they would shape a work that was technically daring and emotionally profound, with a story fueled by the hero’s quest for love…and the villains’ quest for revenge. Or at least, that’s what they’d hoped for.

But when charismatic producer Tony Adams died suddenly, the show began to lose its footing. Soon the budget was ballooning, financing was evaporating, and producers were jumping ship or getting demoted. And then came the injuries. And then came word-of-mouth about the show itself. What followed was a pageant of foul-ups, falling-outs, ever-more harrowing mishaps, and a whole lot of malfunctioning spider legs. This “circus-rock-and-roll-drama,” with its $65 million price tag, had become more of a spectacle than its creators ever wished for. During the show’s unprecedented seven months of previews, the company’s struggles to reach opening night inspired breathless tabloid coverage and garnered international notoriety.

Through it all, Berger observed the chaos with his signature mix of big ambition and self-deprecating humor.

Critic reviews

"Berger gives his raw, personal account of his time writing the script with Julie Taymor of the epically troubled musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. The play, which closed in January 2014, may be Broadway ancient history, but this memoir still cuts to the bone, partly because Berger is so candid about the artistic process behind the runaway-train production. There’s so much insecurity, so much backstabbing, so much back-channeling, I’m almost surprised that Hulu hasn’t adapted it into a docudrama." (Marshall Heyman)

Fantastic

Amazingly candid personal account of an epic tale of the greatest “flop” in Broadway history. Anyone who endeavors to try anything should read/listen to this incredible chronicle.

Fascinating and engaging

Would highly recommend — I thought it was extremely interesting, funny, and thoughtful. Great inside look

Behind the Scenes and Then Some

I didn’t follow the ups and downs of this musical at the time, though I “knew” it had been a prodigious failure brought low by hubris and egos run amok.

Turns out the story is more complex and
nuanced than that— of course! — and one to learn from even if you’re not Broadway bound because it’s about the creative process, the power of personality, and some damn interesting creative folks like Julie Taymor, Bono and the author himself.

Often when an author reads his own work, the outcome is a quasi-disaster. But Glen Berger reads his own work with great humor and a chatty rhythm that feels like you’re in a room with a smart, entertaining friend telling a fantastic story. He is even good (well, pretty good) at Bono’s and the Edge’s Irish accents!

Highly recommend to those who enjoy behind-the-scenes accounts of Broadway and film productions. You are not only taken behind the scenes but escorted to the scenes behind those scenes. Dizzying? Yes, but that’s Broadway, baby!

Great story well told

Oh my god they really make you write a review to give a book a ranking that’s dumb

A "Disaster Artist" for theater nerds

Huh... So THAT'S why the show was so weirdly h*rny...

That's not my main takeaway from the book or anything, but it was something that kept coming up. That may seem like a weird and out of place thought, but but weird out of place hornyness and this play go hand and hand.

Aside from all that what is there to say about the book? Glenn Berger is a story teller. So it should be no surprise that the book is engaging throughout and manages to turn a recounting of events into a well structured narrative.

Mr Berger is also both the author and the narrator which is a combination im always partial too for audio books. No one does a better job of translating the authors voice from page to sound than, well, the authors voice.

Oh also a warning for anyone who's ever worked tech or any support roles in theater. Had a friend of mine who was a former tech crew head in high school and did professional lighting for shows for a few years listen to parts of the book. Hearing about how some of those parts of the show came about or were handled nearly gave him a panic attack