'Spider-Man' musical co-director?

Despite reports that the Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" has brought in both a new co-director and a script doctor to fix up the troubled, $65 million show, the producers say none of it is true.

"There is no truth to the rumor of a co-director," spokesman Rick Miramontez told Newsday today in an e-mailed statement. Regarding that and an earlier report that playwright and Marvel Comics writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was approached to rewrite the musical's book, Miramontez added that, "The production has not brought anyone on, and the original creative team remains firmly in place, with Julie Taymor at the helm."

A news report Sunday morning claimed that the producers are interested in bringing in Philip William McKinley to serve as co-director on the project. His credits include the 2003 Peter Allen Broadway musical "The Boy from Oz," which was nominated for a Best Musical Tony Award. He has also directed the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which may be a plus for the literally high-flying production that involves aerial acrobatics above audiences' heads.

On Wednesday, Deadline.com had similarly cited unnamed sources to report that Aguirre-Sacasa was approached to rewrite the musical's book, written by Taylor and Glen Berger.

The show, based on the popular Marvel superhero Spider-Man, was originally scheduled to open Feb. 18, 2010. It eventually held its first preview on Nov. 28, with an opening set for Jan. 11, 2011. That opening was since pushed to Feb. 7 and then to March 15. Most of the major newspaper critics, including Newsday's Linda Winer, broke tradition and reviewed the show on Feb. 7, citing a record number of delayed opening dates.

"The reason that the producers decided to push back opening night is because the creative team needed more time to fully execute their vision," Miramontez told Newsday. "The desire to put on a great show has nothing at all to do with when the critics come or how they respond."

Unlike most Broadway musicals, the unprecedented technical demands of the show precluded the standard series of out-of-town tryouts, with Broadway's Foxwoods Theatre being configured specifically and expensively for the production.

The critics, however, focused primarily on the book and the music, often praising the acrobatics, sets, production design and other technical aspects.