After more than three years of stops and starts, cast members being announced and dropping out, and rumors of wildly escalating production costs that would've eighty-sixed a lesser musical, it looks as though "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" is finally swinging on over to New York's Great White Way.

According to a report that comes to us via the "L.A. Times," Broadway's Spider-Man-inspired musical is set to begin preview performances on November 14 and will officially open on December 21 (with tickets set to go on sale sometime in September, though no official date was given). And while those Spidey fans eager to see Marvel's resident webhead throw up a fierce set of jazz hands are most likely celebrating this news, it should be taken with a bit of caution. After all, "Turn Off The Dark" was supposed to debut back in February of this year, but hit one of several now infamous snags, so we'll reserve our own excitement until we see it on the marque of the Foxwoods Theater (formerly known as the Hilton).

The source also notes that the cast will begin rehearsals later this month, with Reeve Carney taking on the role of Peter Parker, Tony Award nominee Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane (taking over for Even Rachel Wood) and Patrick Page as the Green Goblin (who, likewise, will be taking over for Alan Cumming). The show will be directed by award-winning stage director Julie Taymor, with an original score by Bono and The Edge.

So far the musical's official synopsis seems pretty in-line with the first Spider-Man film, although there may be a few new details contributing to his musical mythos:
Maligned by the media, buffeted by financial woes, and stretched thin by the expectations of the world at large, Peter now must struggle to navigate the perilous and peculiar demands of being a web-slinging super hero. With the characters in "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" ranging from old familiar favorites to super villains imagined anew for the stage, Spider-Man's battles will hurtle the audience through a story both recognizable and unexpected, culminating in an eye-popping, ultimate test for this iconic figure.
Since the "Turn Off The Dark" crew are creating new villains just for the musical, fans can only hope they take a page from "Spider-Man: Rock Reflections of a Superhero's" Doctor Octopus in terms of raw righteousness.