Photo: Parra/FilmMagic(Bono), Honda/AFP/Getty (Spiderman), Walker/Getty(Wood), Ward/WireImage(Cumming)
The delayed Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Broadway show featuring music by U2’s Bono and the Edge will have to find a new Mary Jane. Producers have confirmed that Evan Rachel Wood, the actress originally cast in the role of Peter Parker’s love interest, has left the musical, Variety reports. Wood exited the production due to a “scheduling conflict”; financial troubles pushed Turn Off the Dark’s opening well beyond its original February 25th preview premiere date. Variety writes that Spider-Man will likely begin its preview run in late summer and open around Halloween, though those dates remain unconfirmed by the show’s production team.
“She’s the greatest actor of her generation, she’s the one to watch,” Bono said of Wood after her casting was announced. “She happens to sing like a bird, it’s like a true voice. She’s a very pure spirit and a very bright mind and she brings the part of MJ to life, really.”
As Rolling Stone previously reported, a “cash flow problem” temporarily shut down production on Spider-Man in August, just two months after it was revealed that Wood, who previously worked with Turn Off the Dark director Julie Taymor in Across the Universe, would play Mary Jane and Alan Cumming had been cast as the musical’s villain, the Green Goblin. Singer Reeve Carney of the band Carney was later added to play Peter Parker, or Spider-Man without the mask on, in the show.
The budget for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has reportedly grown to about $50 million dollars, making it one of the most expensive shows in Broadway history. The official Spider-Man on Broadway site hasn’t been updated yet to reflect Wood’s departure. Fans who previousl...
Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily