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New Yorker Cover Spoofs ‘Spider-Man’ Musical

Several theatergoers tell the magazine they are seeing the long-plagued Broadway show in hopes of seeing a mishap.

January 11, 2011 4:01pm

New Yorker Cover Spoofs 'Spider-Man' Musical — The New Yorker

Broadway’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark continues to come under scrutiny – this time at the hands of the New Yorker.

The magazine’s Jan. 17 cover features a Barry Blitt illustration showing several Spider-Man characters in bandages in a hospital wing.

The issue also contains an article by Michael Schulman, who asks of the musical’s recent box office success: “[Are] people paying to see calamity?” he writes.

Several theatergoers tell him they were catching previews of the $65 million show hoping to see a mishap (four cast members have been seriously injured).

Last week, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was No. 1, surpassing the Wicked with $1,588,514 in sales.

The musical officially opens Feb. 7.