Why Bono Subtitled "Spider-Man" Musical "Turn Off the Dark"

As previews for Julie Taymor's musical with U2's Bono and the Edge draw nearer, the production is releasing more behind-the-scenes video explaining how the unique collaboration is developing. The Los Angeles Times pointed us to a chat with director Taymor in which she reveals it was Bono who came up with the second part of the show's title. "It was a story that he heard about a child who would say to his daddy, he was sleeping, and instead of saying 'turn on the light,' he would say 'turn off the dark.' "

Taymor goes to talk about how Spider-Man tries to bring light into a world churning with dramatic darkness, or terror, which arguably makes it a story very appropriate for our times. The Edge has previously said he was drawn to the material because the super-hero story resonated with the rock-star experience: "Every rock & roll star probably started out as the geek who got bullied on in school, and eventually their form of revenge was to write songs or learn to play guitar."

In a second interview, Taymor assures doubters she read hundreds of comic books while preparing to work on Spider-Man, and that "He won't be singing in tights." Peter Parker the regular guy sings, but the masked Spider-Man only acts, flies and fights.

As Rolling Stone reported, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark stars Evan Rachel Wood as Mary Jane Watson and Alan Cumming as Norman Osborn, a.k.a. the Green Goblin. Previews begin on February 25th, and the public ticket onsale starts September 12th.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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