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Superheroes come to life in arena show
By John Benson
Just as you don’t want to make The Hulk angry, equally troublesome (and destructive, albeit on message boards and Twitter) are the infuriatingly overzealous and fickle comic-con fans.
Director Shanda Sawyer said she was acutely cognizant of the latter when creating the brand-new touring production “Marvel Universe Live!,” which makes its Northeast Ohio debut Oct. 1-4 at Quicken Loans Arena, and then moves on to Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh from Oct. 8-14.
“This was such a wonderful opportunity to create something that didn’t really exist in any kind of entertainment,” Sawyer said. “It wasn’t just we were going to copy a movie and wanted to create a live-action version. The intent from the beginning was to create a genuinely new genre of entertainment.
“I also knew I wanted it to be a story told through action, because in the arena it’s challenging to tell a story. We created the arc of the action of the story so that it would shift from one scene to another, and all of these incredible superhero stunts would remain very true to the characters and what their abilities are.”
And what stunts they are with cutting-edge special effects, pyrotechnics, aerial tricks, martial arts and high-flying motorcycles. As far as superheroes are concerned, 25 Marvel characters – including Spider-Man and The Avengers – come to life.
The “Marvel Universe Live!” narrative includes an epic quest for the Cosmic Cube, which is the source of ultimate power. The cube was shattered into pieces by Thor in order to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands – or in this case, his villainous brother, Loki, who is devising a scheme to clone the cube’s powers.
In terms of creating a new genre of live comic-book action, it’s hard on the surface not to compare the intentions of “Marvel Universe Live!” to the ill-fated Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” which never truly got off the ground and closed with a loud thump.
“It’s an entirely different type of entertainment,” Sawyer said. “This is not a Broadway show. You can’t do a Broadway show in an arena. I feel very proud that we have been able to tell a story, to take people on this incredible ride through the Marvel universe.”
Early in its run, Sawyer knew they had pulled off something special when an 8-year-old boy gave her the greatest – and most hilarious – compliment a director can receive.
“He came up to me and said, ‘This is my lifelong dream,’” Sawyer said, laughing. “It was so amazing to see kids having that kind of experience.”
To be fair, if Comic Book Guy from “The Simpsons” has taught us anything, comic-book fandom isn’t just for the young.
“I’ve sat in audiences with fan boys next to me,” Sawyer said. “What appeals to them are the banter between the characters and all of the little in-jokes that are Easter-egged into the script that they’re really privy to. It’s fun to hear the fan boys laughing at all of our jokes.”
Please tell us those fan boys are sitting in their seats dressed as, say, The Hulk?
Sawyer laughed and said, “The Hulk, yes. Oh my God, people love to dress as the Hulk.”
Well, at least they’re happy Hulks.