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U2’s Spider-Man Musical Gets Title, Premiere Date

It’s official: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, the much-speculated and much-delayed musical directed by Julie Taymor (The Lion King) with music and lyrics by Bono and the Edge of U2, will open Feb. 18, 2010 on Broadway. Preview performances will begin Jan. 16, 2010.

With a budget of $40 million, the production is Broadway’s most expensive yet, and will debut at the Hilton Theatre, a massive, 12-year-old venue on 42nd street, which most recently housed Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein. According to Yahoo, the venue is the only theater big enough on Broadway to allow the superhero ample space to chase villains through the elaborate, skyscraper set planned for the musical.

“Spider-Man’s battles will hurtle the audience through an original story both recognizable and unexpected — yielding new characters as well as familiar faces — until a final surprising confrontation casts a startling new light on this hero’s journey,” producers said in a statement.

Details regarding the actual songs are few, but the musical’s title does derive from one of the Bono/Edge-penned tunes.

Casting has yet to be announced for the musical, which follows the classic plot where Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider, fights crime, meets Mary Jane Watson, etc.

Rehearsals were expected to being this spring, but have now been pushed to fall so producers can have a workshop this summer.

The musical will arrive on the heels of an already busy ’09 for U2. The Irish quartet will release their 12th studio album, No Line on the Horizon, March 3. Read SPIN’s review of the album here. Listen to its first single, “Get on Your Boots,” here.