The Final Word on the Spider-Man Musical, and the Word After That

I was all prepared to let this Taiwan news animation segment on the catackalysm that is Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which perfectly encapsulates everything that need be said, run by itself, but it turns out that the musical has managed to suffer yet another blow since I saw the video earlier this morning. From the New York Times:

One of the lead actresses in Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” Natalie Mendoza, who suffered a concussion during the musical’s first preview performance last month, is leaving the production, according to two people who work on the show and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ms. Mendoza’s representatives and the producers of “Spider-Man” have been hammering out an exit agreement for days now, and an official statement is expected as early as Tuesday, the two people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the producers have forbid public comments given that lawyers and others are still fine-tuning the language to explain Ms. Mendoza’s departure, an artistic loss and embarrassing blow to the production.
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Ms. Mendoza played Arachne, a spider villainess who has a major role in Peter Parker’s becoming Spider-Man and who becomes obsessed with the super-hero. Arachne is a signature creation of the show’s director, Julie Taymor […] Much of the Act II story revolves around Arachne, and Ms. Taymor had collaborated closely with Ms. Mendoza on developing a distinctive look and manner for the character. Arachne delivers the musical’s title number and sings on five other songs, including an Act I turning point, “Rise Above,” and the finale, “Love Me or Kill Me.”
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On Sunday, Ms. Mendoza wrote on her Facebook page that she was grateful to be down to two nausea tablets and four painkillers per day to cope with her concussion. “Thank goodness I had such a brilliant neurologist who made sure I recovered properly,” she wrote. “Nice to be almost back to normal…. almost anyway haha! Thanking God for peace, real friends, love and health and healing.”

…yep. Nothing more need be said… except when the next thing goes horribly, hilariously wrong later this week.