Almost exactly a year ago, I was checking my Facebook feed when a friend of mine shared this video:

Like most L.A. theatre people, I'd been following the developing saga that was the ever-extending preview period of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark with an honest mix of embarrassment and morbid curiosity. I remember how disappointed I'd felt. Turn Off The Dark had represented the blending of two of my favorite things - comic books and musical theatre, and had the potential to be a truly groundbreaking experience. Instead, about a year ago, we learned exactly how much of a let down the most expensive musical in history was going to be. That's why Justin's video grabbed me. Here was someone that wasn't happy with the raw deal fans had gotten and was going to do something about it. I followed Justin's efforts for the entire month as The Spidey Project was developed. Every blog entry, every video, every press clipping. When the show finally opened and enjoyed its glorious one-night run, I watched the Twitterverse explode, greener than the Goblin with envy, crushed that I was 3,000 miles away and unable to experience it in person. In the days that followed, I watched as New York reacted to what it had seen that night.

“What makes the show work is the fact that it's both a heartfelt take on the Spider-Man origin story and a fond but genuinely funny parody.”
-Publishers Weekly

“…made me think that maybe Spider-Man should have been envisioned as a comedy all along.”
-Backstage

“Funny. Quick. Clever. Imaginative. And cheap (in the good sense of the word).”
-Talk Entertainment

“The Spidey Project: Yes, This Is How to Do a Spidey Musical”
-TheMarySue.com

“While the gonzo, unauthorized, let's-put-on-a-show nature of The Spidey Project is much of its charm, I find myself saddened that it will probably vanish into Youtube obscurity, never to be put on again. It's a fun, well-made, easy to love musical…”
-Publishers Weekly

That last quote really stuck with me the first time I read it. At that point, I became determined to make sure the show kept going. We couldn't allow it to be forgotten, a footnote of Broadway history. The show deserved more. The fans deserved more, too.

Now, I'm not here to bash Turn Off The Dark, but I will say this: A year ago I was very disappointed to see people spending so much money to go see bad theatre. At first, I was disturbed because even though reports everywhere said the musical itself was bad, people were buying tickets left and right. I couldn't figure out why, at first, but then I realized, it was because of the drama surrounding the show - the injuries, the technical mishaps, the accidents. It almost seemed to me like people weren't going to the show because they wanted to see it performed, but rather because they wanted to see it fail live, right in front of them. The drama surrounding the stage had overshadowed the drama on the stage. Now, months after the show has reportedly been "fixed" and turned into something critics say is mediocre at best, it's still one of the top three grossing shows on Broadway every week, and for the life of me, I still can't understand why. Now that (thankfully) there haven't been any major injuries or accidents, what are people going to see? The show is all spectacle, but no substance. It features a character named Spider-Man, but as a fan of Spidey's for 25 years now, I sure wouldn't recognize him on that stage if it weren't for the red and blue spandex. That's not my Spider-Man at Foxwoods, and that's why the world needs The Spidey Project.

The Spidey Project is one part parody of its big brother, and nine parts loving tribute to everyone's favorite wall-crawler. True, there aren't any high-flying stunts in this show. You won't see actors soaring over the stage or swinging out over the audience on wires. You won't see flashy costumes or big-budget special effects. However, what you will get is an engrossing, entertaining story that grabs you, memorable songs that will both make you laugh and send chills down your spine with excitement when you hear them, and some really creative staging that shows you don't need to strap your actors into a harness and literally launch them three stories into the air to make them fly. Musicals are spectacles by nature; that's a key part of their allure, but spectacles without substance are simply hollow experiences that are easily forgotten. The Spidey Project hits a perfect balance, justifying the spectacle within the story, rather than trying to hide a lack of cohesive plot behind dazzling smoke and mirrors.

Reading the script, it's easy to tell that The Spidey Project was written by people who "got it." "True believers," as Stan Lee calls them. Yes, the plot follows the origin story of Spidey, chronicling his transformation from a nerdy teenager into a super hero, and sure, we've seen it done before in movies and cartoons, but there's a wonderful spin on this retelling that makes seeing this show an experience like no other. Justin, John, Adam and Doug put their own unique stamp on this tale. This was written as a tribute by fans, for fans both old and new, and it successfully captured the spirit of the books while retelling a well-known story through fresh eyes. When you think about it, wasn't that the whole point of seeing a Spidey musical on stage in the first place?

For one night last spring, Broadway had found the hero they'd been looking for. Now, Theatre Unleashed is here to do our part and keep the show going to make sure they don't forget that. The Spidey Project swings in to Los Angeles on March 8th. We'll see you there.