An open letter to Julie Taymor and the producers of Spiderman: The Musical.

Last night I saw a preview of the buzzed about extravaganza “Spiderman: The Musical” and it is indeed a spectacle. A lot has been said about the technical gaffes, but those will eventually be fixed. Harder to address, the book. Unfortunately, there are major problems with the show.

I realize this article is a bit unfair since I saw just the third run-through of a wildly ambitious show and Julie Taymor and her team are wildly creative and may already be fixing everything … but I offer these notes as a non-partisan third party … in the off chance they want any input to help them finesse their dream show, because sometimes the view from the outside can be just a bit clearer.

1. Make Peter likable
When we first meet Peter he’s undermining his school mates, getting beat up and then taking it out on his elderly caretakers. What’s to like? Not much.

2. Lose the geek chorus
The four nerdy-chic teens that start the show have nothing to do with the action and worse, disappear half way through with no payoff. If you need something happening while you change your impressive sets, use the time you desperately need to build and grow Peter and Mary Jane’s relationship.

3. Add plot to the flying
Yes it’s impressive to watch Spidey and others zoom over our heads while the music swells, but eventually it starts to feel like the latest tour of Cirque du Soleil. Give your characters something to say while they are battling above our heads, wise-cracking conflict and resolution, and suddenly the high wire act will come together beautifully.

4. Minimize Arachne
Yes, this is a tough one for you Julie since this character is your baby, but as you probably know by now, it’s not working. Her story and connection to Spiderman is, at best, confusing … plus her repeated hovering around the stage in her spider cocoon slows down the show and sometimes even looks unintentionally campy. Frankly, sorry to say, the 2nd act needs a new villian. Arachne has no bite.

5. Simplify in favor of story and character
One of the best moments of the show is a romantic duet in the 2nd act … No spectacle, no big sets, no wires … Just two characters expressing their love. Spiderman: the musical needs more heart, and to achieve that it needs quiet moments where we connect with the characters. Key moments are buried in visual extras like when Peter’s uncle dies or when Peter discovers he has superpowers. Quiet down the noise so we can hear the heartbeat of these characters we want to love.

May the web be with you.

John Palacio is a television producer and VP of And Now Media. He is neither a comic book fan nor a Spiderman aficionado.