Apparently wishing to capitalize on the enormous and unequivocal success of Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Nick Grace of Walter Lane Productions Ltd. have concocted an arena show entitled Batman Live. The show will take Robin for its protagonist as it journeys on a whirlwind tour through much of the Batman universe. 

Looking at the publicity photos, I don't think "camp" is strong enough. The design aesthetic is reminiscent of something horrific coughed up during the '90s. Especially now, after Christopher Nolan's sleek and moody take on the franchise, it seems like a poor decision to outfit the world of Batman in technicolor. 

But maybe the (desperate for work) costume and set designers are just attempting a "classic" look in line with the comics themselves. The show's website takes its design from comic book imagery. The character drawings might even have been pulled right out of one of the original books. But just because something looks good in ink on paper doesn't mean it's going to translate well to real, physical costumes. I think we learned that well enough from the aforementioned unspeakable horror. 

I'm also perplexed as to why that miserable failure of a Spiderman musical seems to be starting a trend. Yes, Turn Off the Dark got a ton of attention due to its spectacular incompetence, but that's not a model we want to follow as a civilization. Setting up train wreck after train wreck may be amusing to those who have the money to do so but it benefits no one else. At least Batman Live had the sense not to be a musical, I guess. The thought of a singing Dark Knight makes me want to burn things. 

But there you have it. Batman: the Arena Stage Show is something that we as modern civilization have hacked up out of the most miserable, money-grubbing corner of our lungs. It'll premiere in Manchester this July, then wreak havoc through the UK before eventually landing in North America. Apparently there will be pyrotechnics and a working Batmobile on stage. Tickets will probably set you back the equivalent of a rare back issue. That's another reason why I'm confused: who is the target audience of this thing? I don't know any Batman geeks who would shell out a week's pay just to see their beloved universe unceremoniously smeared across the pit of a stadium. And no theater geeks are under the impression that this will be anything close to good. I guess it's aimed at that middle ground, those drifting between the poles of geekdom, people who recognize and appreciate the Batman brand but haven't read any of its comics. And Batman Live (I keep fighting the urge to put an exclamation point after the title) is being marketed as a "stage show," not a "play," so I suppose theater doesn't really enter into it. Just seems a hard thing to find a specific audience for, is all. Not that I'll mind if no one shows up. 

(via SlashFilm)