When In Doubt, Adapt Something

Production on the new Spider-Man musical was temporarily suspended last month due to "an unexpected cash flow problem." Inspired by over 40 years of Marvel comic books, Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark is set to begin previews at the Hilton Theater on February 25, 2010. The $35 million production is directed by Julie Taymor (The Lion King) and features music and lyrics by U2 members Bono and The Edge. Evan Rachel Wood will play Mary Jane Watson and Tony Award-winner Alan Cumming will play Norman Osborne, aka Green Goblin.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet (American Buffalo, Speed-the-Plow, Oleanna, November, Race) is set to write and direct a new film version of The Diary of Anne Frank. According to Variety, the film's script will be based on the original diary, as well as the 1955 play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Casting and a specific time frame for the project have yet to be announced.

Director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw (The Drowsy Chaperone, Spamalot) will stage an upcoming workshop of Elf-The Musical, based on the 2003 New Line Cinema film. The workshop will be presented in Manhattan Nov. 1 - Dec. 12.

American Idiot, a new musical based on the Green Day album of the same name, premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre on September 4. The show includes every song from the Grammy Award-winning album, as well as new material from 21st Century Breakdown. Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening) collaborated with Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong to develop the story. The production features orchestrations by Tony-Award winning composer Tom Kitt (Next to Normal) and lighting by Tony Award-winning designer Kevin Adams (Spring Awakening, Passing Strange, Next to Normal). Tony Award-winning actor John Gallagher, Jr. leads a cast that includes fellow Spring Awakening alums Gerard Canonico and Brian Charles Johnson, as well as Matt Caplan, Mary Faber, and Rebecca Naomi Jones. After record-breaking ticket sales, the show has already been extended three weeks, officially opening September 16 and running through November 1.