Pam and I went to see The Spider Queen at the new Fringe Art Space near Church Street Station in Downtown Orlando. This is now known as the Ophelia theater. We had picked up some post cards that promote my COVID film in Winter Park and we decided we would have enough time to try out a small Polish restaurant on Aloma. There were several tables outside so that is where we sat.
Unfortunately after a business call in the parking lot and very slow service we had to get pack the food in take out boxes and eat on the way to the theater. Pam drove to the theater like we were in a Mission Impossible chase scene. My car battery had to be jumped earlier in the day, because it has sat idle for so long while I was animating on the film. I tried to get the car clock set since we were racing the clock to get to the theater. There were hours and minuted which I set correctly but then there was a third button with tow zeros. I needed to change AM to PM and hoped that button would do the job. No, that button reset the clock which undid the settings. I abandoned the clock.
Pam stopped in front of the theater and let me out to run inside. My job was to find out if she could get into the theater after she parked the car, which would involve her walking an extra 10 minutes. At the Fringe International Theater Festival it is impossible to get into a show after it has started. Thankfully those rules are relaxed in the Fringe Art Space.
The fellow at the front desk was more than helpful. He went out of his way to be sure Pam got in and could find where I was seated. The volunteer scanned Pam’s ticket and then noted where I sat which was in the back row house right. I didn’t want my iPad screen glow to be noticed by anyone else in the audience. Pam did arrive about 10 minutes after the show started. When she entered she almost bumped into an actor who was in front of the stage. The volunteer pointed out my spot and I turned my ipPad screen towards Pam so she could clearly see me in the dark.
The show was about the Spiderman Musical that was an epic failure on Broadway. The Spider Queen opened with Glen Berger, an apologetic, shy writer who worked with director Julie Taymor, of Lion King fame. The overpriced musical they collaborated on faced an endless string of setbacks. The producer died of a stroke. The show then faced financing setbacks and a series of technical glitches and ultimately horrific injuries on set. A 29 year old Spiderman stuntman fell 30 feet. The tether holding the stunt double broke and he fell more than 30 feet to the pit below. The stunt double sued for 6 million dollars and the show on a whole cost over 75 million dollars to produce.
That same month, an actress suffered a concussion, while two other actors were injured during a flying sequence, one breaking his wrist. A stagehand fell went into cardiac arrest. He was transferred to St. Luke’s Hospital where he later died. The show was plagued. In The Spider Queen the horrific accident was shown using plush Spiderman dolls swung around with fishing poles and string. The low tech puppetry missed the mark.