Image Credit: Fox; Jacob CohlFox News personality Glenn Beck is never shy about serving up his opinion about most topics — that’s for dang sure — but this morning on his radio show, The Glenn Beck Program, he started in very passionately on a topic that we’ve rarely heard him be passionate about before: the theater. Specifically, Broadway’s new musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which has been berdevilled with injuries and other problems during its previews. The somewhat surprising part? Beck absolutely loved the show, which has been largely panned by early reviewers. (Technically, no official reviews of Spider-Man are supposed to appear until the show’s official opening, which has been moved back twice but is currently slated for Feb. 7.) “This is better than Wicked!” Beck said, referencing the much-lauded Broadway show that was an instant success when it debuted in 2003. “This is much better than Wicked.”
His hyperbolic review didn’t stop there. He urged his audience to give a kidney to go see Spider-Man, which he said he saw on Saturday evening, and proclaimed the show better than Phantom of the Opera. “I mean, you’ve got two kidneys. Don’t give both kidneys up — go see Wicked before you give both kidneys,” Beck continued. “But give a kidney to go see Spider-Man. I’m telling you, mark my words, it’s being panned right now, nobody’s saying good stuff about it. I’m telling you, you go buy your ticket — you buy your ticket now, if you’re thinking about coming to New York, because when this thing opens and it’s starting to run, you will not be able to get tickets to this for a year. This is one of those shows, this is the Phantom of the 21st century.” Opening back in January 1988, Phantom of the Opera is the longest-running — and most successful — show in the history of Broadway.
Beck also took the opportunity to lay siege to theater critics. “Well, it’s not, well this isn’t theater!” he said in a faux French accent, mocking the critics. “It’s music by Bono! Who is Bono? Of course he does a lot of charity, which I like, I think he was down in Haiti, but he’s still rock!”
Despite his elation over Spider-Man, Glenn Beck is not an investor in the show. But if there is one that we can confirm about him, it’s this: He really, really likes Spider-Man on Broadway. Enjoy the full audio clip here:
Read more:
‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark’: The first (unofficial) reviews are in
‘Spider-Man’ accident blamed on ‘human error’
‘Spider-Man’ the musical on ’60 Minutes’: A first look at a big hit or a big turkey?
This is clearly the definitive kiss of death for the show.
Beck is a clown.
So what you are saying is that the show sucks. Thanks for saving me $100!
I’ll bet he loved Avatar too.
If he loved Avatar, that’s great for Spider-Man. It means it will eventually become the # 1 grossing Broadway show of all time.
if this was a joke, good one. if it wasn’t.. uh.. you should google beck and james cameron
oh it was.
Actually, Wicked wasn’t lauded by critics at all. It was pretty much ignored by them. It’s success was in spite of reviews.
i saw wicked and didnt like it. I saw Spider Man and didnt like it either. Spider Man was worse
Well, for my part, that is certainly an endorsement NOT to see the show.
Nice way to let Beck control your life. Like Bush literally controlled the left for 8 years distracting them from an constructive cause that would have endeared them to the middle.
i refuse to believe it
Not surprised. If he had done this for A Little Night Music I would have been surprised. Spider Man? Not so much. He can have it.
That an assclown.
Now I will always hate Spider-Man the Musical.
If spiderman becomes a success, it won’t have ANYTHING to do with glenn beck
That’s kind of what I was thinking. I mean, the show is already selling well enough as it is…it kind of feels like he’s at least partly just trying to associate himself with something that will become popular despite critics, simply so that in the future he can point to how great the show did and say “It’s because of me! Damn the elitist critics!” …even though people have been interested in seeing the show well before he started pushing it. He probably liked the show okay, but it just feels like he’s using it for his own reasons too. Um, and I’m fairly sure the critics have appreciated rock musicals before – it’s not that elitist music snobs are turning their noses up at the show because Bono did the music. It just apparently isn’t anything special, in the minds of those critics.
Did he pay for his tickets with gold?
Ha! Good one there!
Brilliant.
Can’t say I’m surprised. Both Phantom and Wicked are average shows, but it’s pretty cruel to compare the mess that is Spider-man to those two shows.
Glenn Beck’s opinion on anything is about as reliable as a deranged circus monkey. If Beck likes it than it must be awful.
I remember seeing that Wicked got mixed to negative reviews by the critics too. But we all know how that turned out. The negative reviews have not hurt that show one bit.
Kidneys, schmidneys. Would he give up his all-important food insurance for a ticket?
Oh, right, all those ELITIST critics with their fancy “Knowledge” and “experience”. What an idiot he is. Besides, I don’t imagine the poeple watching his show being not-fat enough to make it out of their tralers and off to NYC. Besides, they would have to spend all their Cheetoh money.
Passionate, valid ideas in need of a sober edit job here, Bob. LOL.
Actually, I fully take that premature response back. Sorry; you’re bang on right — and hilarious. His fans are a bunch of fat-ass, Cheetoh scarfing know-nothings that would likely love the crap-tastic production that this clearly is. That being said, I, and three friends, have tickets for it next month. : (