The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Spider-Man swings into town with arena show ‘Age of Heroes’
Arena show ‘Marvel Universe LIVE! Age of Heroes’ brings comic-book action to circus-like life
An unsuspecting person who finds himself or herself in an extraordinary circumstance overcoming great odds sounds like a plot to a superhero movie. ¶ However, that’s exactly how James Hadley felt when he was asked to direct “Marvel Universe LIVE! Age of Heroes,” which makes its Northeast Ohio debut Oct. 13 through 15 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. ¶ “I have to say, it was one of those things that when they called me, I had never done anything quite like it before,” said Hadley, calling from Santiago, Chile. “It was really exciting, and I was able to pull from a lot of my different backgrounds to try to bring these superheroes to life.”
Still, Hadley brings more than 25 years of experience in creating and directing large-scale events, circus shows and professional theater productions.
After performing on Broadway, Hadley became Cirque du Soleil’s senior artistic director for North America. He was responsible for the artistic quality and evolution of world-renowned shows including “Mystere,” “La Nouba,” “O,” “The Beatles’ LOVE,” “Ka” “Iris” and “Zumanity.”
Hadley said because of his Cirque du Soleil experience he wanted to bring that acrobatic element to “Marvel Universe LIVE! Age of Heroes.” What surprised him was how the performers not only gravitated to the roles but immersed themselves into the discovery process.
“What impressed me was how much responsibility they felt playing these characters,” Hadley said. “They really wanted to get them right. They felt a sense of ownership. So they’re always in front of the mirror. And we’ve had all of these coaches. Also, Marvel was with us every step of the way.”
The result Hadley promises is a Marvel fans’ dream come true, with the “Age of Heroes” narrative featuring Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, Hulk and Black Widow being joined by the Guardians of the Galaxy crew of Star-Lord, Gamora, Groot, Rocket and Drax. The plot is simply defending the universe against popular villains Nebula, Loki and Green Goblin.
“The biggest challenge for me was keeping the audience interested,” Hadley said. “I didn’t want it to be just one stage fight after another after another. I wanted them to sort of come into this world of this Marvel Universe and each scene had something different, something special and unique about it. I really wanted to make sure that each different scene was a completely new environment and brought its own sort of ‘wow’ moment.”
Helping to create those ‘wow’ moments are an immersive video projection, cutting-edge special effects and fantastic aerial stunts. Hadley said his experience with “Marvel Universe LIVE! Age of Heroes” is not unlike what audiences take away from the superhero affair.
He grew up a huge fan of the Spider-Man cartoons from the ’60s. Today, his Spidey sense still tingles whenever he sees the show.
“As a kid, I couldn’t have imagined to be able to work with Spider-Man now this many years later,” Hadley said. “It really is a dream come true.”