Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, with original direction and co-written book by Julie Taymor, began Broadway previews at the Foxwoods Theatre.
On December 14, 2010, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, for which Julie Taymor provided original direction and co-wrote the book, began Broadway previews at the Foxwoods Theatre in New York City. The production, featuring music by Bono and The Edge of U2, was among the most expensive and technically ambitious Broadway productions ever mounted, incorporating elaborate aerial stunts and flying sequences.
Taymor sought to bring her signature blend of myth, spectacle, and visual innovation to the world of superhero storytelling, aiming to elevate the source material into a mythic theatrical experience. The show's extraordinarily complex staging, involving performers flying above the audience, presented unprecedented technical and safety challenges.
The preview period became notorious in theater history due to numerous technical malfunctions, injuries to performers during flying sequences, and extensive delays, drawing intense media scrutiny and repeated postponements of the official opening night.
Despite the turmoil, the production represented a bold, high-risk creative gamble emblematic of Taymor's career-long willingness to push technical and artistic boundaries. It also set the stage for the significant creative and legal disputes that would soon lead to her departure from the production in 2011.