By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The man behind Broadway's mega-spectacle "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" shot back at critics Tuesday, calling them illegitimate and out of touch.
"Any of the people who review the show and say it has no redeeming value are just not legitimate reviewers, period," producer Michael Cohl said in a statement to EW.com.
"It’s hard to have people that don’t get pop culture reviewing a pop culture event, isn’t it?"
Cohl has reason for frustration. Critics overwhelmingly panned his $65 million show – the brainchild of "Lion King" director Julie Taymor and U2's Bono and The Edge – with the New York Times remarking that it "is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway; it may also rank among the worst."
The Times and 11 other news outlets reviewed the show on Monday, despite the dictates of Broadway custom, which require reviewers to hold off until the show's opening night. Monday had at one time been the show's scheduled opening day, but it has since been rescheduled for March 15.
“The PILE-ON by the critics was ridiculous and uncalled for," the show's spokesman Rick Miramontez said of the early reviews in an earlier statement to EW.com. "Their actions are unprecedented and UNCOOL!”
While the show's representatives have complained that the production was not ready to be reviewed, since it's still being tweaked, critics defended their decision to review the production, citing the millions of dollars that audiences have paid to see preview performances
Despite the show's many setbacks, it has consistently surpassed $1 million in weekly ticket sales and twice beaten out "Wicked" as the top-grossing musical of a week, according to Playbill.com.
