Theater News

EXCLUSIVE: Ivo van Hove to Direct Spider-Man Revival With Andrew Garfield, Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire

Harvey Fierstein will rewrite the musical using the original score by Bono and The Edge.

Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland
Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland
(© GDCGraphics/David Gordon/Gage Skidmore)

Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, and Tom Holland will star in simultaneous Broadway and West End productions of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, directed by Ivo van Hove.

The musical will run concurrently at New York's Helen Hayes Theatre and London's Criterion Theatre, opening on November 28, 2022, the 12th anniversary of the show's first Broadway preview.

Van Hove's production will feature a new script written by Harvey Fierstein that combines elements of both the original and revised editions of the show, including a restoration of the Geek Chorus and the now-beloved number "Deeply Furious" (a.k.a. Arachne's shoe song), despite the fact that the company will be shoeless at all times.

Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark will be designed by van Hove's longtime collaborator, Jan Versweyveld, with the flying effects taking place off stage and transmitted to audience members via the latest video camera technology. The musical features a score by Bono and the Edge, which will be played entirely by an orchestra made up of electric guitars, as well as an original book by Julie Taymor and Glen Berger, and a revised original book by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.

Garfield, Maguire, and Holland will share the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man at each performance, though the production has not yet determined how the three actors will appear in New York and England simultaneously. When reached for comment, Garfield denied his association with the production, saying "No, I'm not. I'm not. For crying out loud."

Van Hove's Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark is budgeted at $2.5 million, a far cry from the $75 million of the original (and far fewer No. 2 pencils).

A scene from the original Broadway production of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark
A scene from the original Broadway production of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark
(© 8 Legged Productions)

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