Spider-Man on Broadway star T.V. Carpio says it was “crushing” to read the negative reviews of the $70 million show, the most expensive of all time.
“It sort of banded everybody together. Of course it’s crushing when somebody doesn’t like your work, but it’s like we felt that they were not judging a finished product. It’s like coming to a new restaurant and eating the food before the whole menu has is done,” Carpio tells Blackbook magazine.
When asked how she feels about Tuesday’s opening night, which features a completely reworked script (after Julie Taymor was ousted) and new music from U2’s Bono and The Edge, Carpio, who plays Arachne, says, “I don’t know if nervous is the right word, because we’ve done it so much now.”
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“It seems that people really liked it before, and people really like it now. It’s to be expected that some people like the other version more, and some people are going to like this version more, and some people are going to like both,” she goes on.
“Critics are human. They’re going to say what they want to say, and I can’t control that. I can do my best, and we’ve had both the privilege and not so privilege of having so many previews,” she adds.
The new version is “completely different,” says Carpio: “Family friend, not as dark, more clear. These are the things I heard were goals.
“I don’t think any scene has been untouched, but the foundation of what makes it magical is still what Julie came up with,” she says, adding that she thinks Taymor will see the show “at some point.”
Opening night “feels like an end to the creative bit,” admits Carpio. “We’ve been under so much duress because things have constantly been changing on a daily basis, whether it be a word or a line, or an entire paragraph or scene. I think the end of that will be nice to just be able to settle in, and just do the show as is, and have a normal life again. A lot of us have forgotten what that’s because everyone has been married to Spider-Man.”
She says that Bono and The Edge have “been in and out like they have with this whole process. When they are here, they’re in it, they live and breathe it, and have their hands in all the music, and they’re always wanting to make things better.”
Carpio, who was sidelined for two weeks in March after sustaining whiplash on stage, says she thinks the safety measures on the trouble-plagued show are a little over the stop. She replaced actress Natalie Mendoza, who dropped out after a piece of equipment hit her, leaving her with a concussion.
“For instance, Chris Tierney, the one who fell, has three tethers to him, it’s like triangle. He thinks it’s a bit extreme as well. Before it was just one,” says Carpio. “
Singing in midair is “very uncomfortable,” continues Carpio. “I have these harnesses riding up where my groin and legs meet, and it’s very tight, so you’re just hanging with all your body weight there for three or four scenes, and you go down and sing a song. It’s much more body controlled, versus a thrill.”
She never considered leaving the show despite the multiple injuries: “I really love my job.”
