Musical bosses sue director

Yet more problems for troubled Spiderman production...

11:14 18 January 2012

The producers of the Spiderman musical are suing the ex-director of the show, Julie Taymor, who was sacked last March.

The bosses claim that Taymor refused to make changes when the show faced problems which made it appear disjointed, saying that she created a "hallucinogenic" show.

This is not the first legal battle the show has had on its hands. Taymor previously sued the producers after they did not pay her the royalties she had earned and it appears now that they want to get their own back.

Taymor, who once won a Tony award for her work on The Lion King, claimed that after she left the show, the producers continued to use her work in an unauthorised and unlawful way.

Lawyers representing the bosses of the show said:

"Taymor refused to develop a musical that followed the original family-friendly Spiderman story, which was depicted in the Marvel comic books.

"Instead, Taymor, who admits that she was not a fan of the Spiderman story prior to her involvement with the musical, insisted on developing a dark, disjointed and hallucinogenic musical involving suicide, sex and death."

However, despite the behind-the-scenes dramas, the musical has got off to a tremendous start by taking the highest single-week takings in Broadway history.

It was reported that the show, which features music by U2 rocker Bono, took £1.8million on just nine showings over the festive season.