Jun 5, 2025 11:00 EST
Stage & Screen
537
A pre-production scene book from Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark
Estate / Collection: Property of Technical Production Manager Jake Bell
SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK
A pre-production scene book from Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. An interesting spiral bound illustrated book with a plastic cover, the upper wrapper with a Spiderman logo at lower right and the text "TURN OFF THE DARK 25 Aug 2008." The book is 32 pages, each numbered and titled according to act and scene, and with a full-page color digital artist rendering of the stage sets and characters. 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. Slight curling to corners of plastic covers and pages.
Scarce pre-production scene-by-scene renderings for Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, the notoriously troubled Broadway musical. Dated August 2008, this book presents a very early imagining of the look of the show, as initial readings had taken place starting only in 2007. Early on the production was described as "the most technically complex show ever on Broadway, with 27 aerial sequences of characters flying" and engaging in aerial combat. By 2009, the show ran into debt and production was halted, but Disney came in to buy Marvel Comics, and production resumed. Commotion behind the scenes, injuries to actors and stunt doubles (including broken wrists, feet, concussions, and one actor free-falling 21 feet into the orchestra pit), the need for rewrites, and the addition of closing songs delayed the opening six times. The show had a weekly production budget over $1 million, much more than most Broadway shows. Once opened in 2011, the show had terrible reviews but strong initial box office results and closed after a large financial loss.
This book offers a glimpse into the ambitious idea phase of the pre-production. Spider-Man first appears in the book in Act I, Scene 14 titled "The Debut."
Sold for $416
Estimated at $200 - $300
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: Property of Technical Production Manager Jake Bell
SPIDER-MAN: TURN OFF THE DARK
A pre-production scene book from Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark. An interesting spiral bound illustrated book with a plastic cover, the upper wrapper with a Spiderman logo at lower right and the text "TURN OFF THE DARK 25 Aug 2008." The book is 32 pages, each numbered and titled according to act and scene, and with a full-page color digital artist rendering of the stage sets and characters. 8 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches. Slight curling to corners of plastic covers and pages.
Scarce pre-production scene-by-scene renderings for Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, the notoriously troubled Broadway musical. Dated August 2008, this book presents a very early imagining of the look of the show, as initial readings had taken place starting only in 2007. Early on the production was described as "the most technically complex show ever on Broadway, with 27 aerial sequences of characters flying" and engaging in aerial combat. By 2009, the show ran into debt and production was halted, but Disney came in to buy Marvel Comics, and production resumed. Commotion behind the scenes, injuries to actors and stunt doubles (including broken wrists, feet, concussions, and one actor free-falling 21 feet into the orchestra pit), the need for rewrites, and the addition of closing songs delayed the opening six times. The show had a weekly production budget over $1 million, much more than most Broadway shows. Once opened in 2011, the show had terrible reviews but strong initial box office results and closed after a large financial loss.
This book offers a glimpse into the ambitious idea phase of the pre-production. Spider-Man first appears in the book in Act I, Scene 14 titled "The Debut."
Auction: Stage & Screen, Jun 5, 2025
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Popular Stage & Screen Auction on Thursday, June 5, 2025 at 11am
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Memorabilia, Autographs, Artwork & Photographs of the Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance
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Hosted in Collaboration with the Entertainment Community Fund (Formerly the Actors Fund)
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle hosted the popular Stage & Screen auction on June 5, 2025. Fans and collectors around the world vied for exciting offerings celebrating the performing arts of Theater, Hollywood, Music and Dance.
The Glass Menagerie
Highlighting the sale was an extraordinary script of The Glass Menagerie, inscribed by Tennessee Williams to Jo Mielziner, the celebrated set and lighting designer. Mielziner’s annotated carbon copy, it sold for $11,520, many times its $1,500-2,500 estimate. His notes reveal early design ideas, including “wonderful!” beside Williams’ lighting suggestions. This script predates rewrites and was issued before rehearsals began in late November 1944. Their first collaboration, Menagerie became a theatrical milestone, with Mielziner’s visionary designs playing a crucial role in its success and in later Williams-Meilziner productions, A Streetcar Named Desire and Summer and Smoke.
The Entertainment Community Fund
Recognizing the importance of the performing arts to the fabric of New York, Doyle is proud to collaborate on this auction with the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Lots 501 through 519 were auctioned to directly benefit the Fund, and Doyle will donate 100% of our Buyer's Premium on these lots. Featured are stylish costumes from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. For further information on the Entertainment Community Fund, visit EntertainmentCommunity.org
Property of Technical Production Manager Jake Bell
Jake Bell has had a legendary career in the theater as Technical Production Manager for Sir Cameron Mackintosh's iconic musicals. Bell managed some of the most dazzling and technologically advanced stage elements in theater history: the famous falling chandelier in The Phantom of the Opera, the flying helicopter in Miss Saigon, the barricade of Les Misérables and so much more. Among the collection's highlights are annotated production books, scripts, props and memorabilia from Cats, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, A Chorus Line and Phantom of the Opera, including a stage-worn Phantom mask presented to Bell at the April 2023 closing performance. View Lots
The Estate of Tony Roberts
New York native Tony Roberts (1939–2025) was a prolific stage and screen actor with a career spanning over six decades. A two-time Tony award nominee, he appeared in 23 Broadway productions, among them David Merrick’s Barefoot in the Park, Arsenic and Old Lace, and Promises, Promises, for which he won the London Critics Poll Award for the West End production. Among his numerous screen credits are six Woody Allen films, including Annie Hall, Play It Again, Sam and Star-Spangled Girl. He performed in New York City Opera's Brigadoon and South Pacific, and played Scrooge in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden. Collection highlights feature original illustrations by Al Hirschfeld depicting Roberts in Arsenic and Old Lace and Doubles, his script from Star Spangled Girl, and a large group of awards and memorabilia. View Lots
“Costume Bibles” of Barbara Matera
Barbara Matera (1929-2001) was one of the foremost costume designers and creators of costumes on Broadway, working on more than 100 shows between the 1970s to the early 2000s. It was her invariable practice to create a costume bible for every show, with copies of the original designs, specimens of the fabrics used, and notes on the sources of those fabrics. This enabled repairs and new copies of costumes to be consistently assembled over the course of a show. Featured in the sale are costume bibles for Angels in America, Evita, La Cage aux Folles, Phantom of the Opera, RENT and even the Rolling Stones 1994 Voodoo Lounge Tour. View Lots
