Hey, remember that Spider-Man musical on Broadway? Well, as of 1/4/14, it will no longer be on Broadway. There's talk of it being remounted in other cities — Las Vegas is the first one mentioned — and maybe as an arena show (a la Cirque du Soleil) more than in a Broadway-style configuration. I gather a lot of people feel that's what it should have been in the first place.
According to this article and other sources, it will close in New York with record losses, perhaps as high as $60 million. It will also close as the 16th highest-grossing show in Broadway history. (The top five, in case you're interested, are in order: The Lion King, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Mamma Mia! and Chicago. All of those have shown pretty hefty profits and all of them are still running with no inklings of closure.)
The news stories I've seen about it moving to Vegas do not mention a venue, which means no deal is in place. The producers don't even say, "We've been in discussions with various hotels there." I suspect if the show ever does get there it won't bear much resemblance to what's been playing in Manhattan. The above-linked article makes a point of blaming the score so that might well be the first thing to go.
In other Vegas news: Twelve figures of Marvel characters from recent movies (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc.) are being unveiled today at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum at the Venetian. Stan Lee will be in attendance for the ribbon-cutting on that exhibit and on a new Marvel "4-D" movie theater. This prompts speculation that if the Spider-Man musical alights anywhere in Vegas, it'll be at the Venetian…which certainly has room for it.
If you're there, look around for a Spider-Man or Star Wars slot machine as it may be your last chance to ever play one. Disney is getting out of the business of licensing its characters for slot machines…for reasons I don't understand. The stated motive is that too many casinos are encroaching on the turf of Disney World in Florida and the Disney organization wants to draw a clearer dividing line between its wholesome franchises and the sordid business of gambling. But if that's the goal, why open this big attraction at a Vegas hotel-casino? And why try to move the Spider-Man musical there? It's enough to make one suspect Disney has plans to enter the casino business and they're just cancelling licensing contracts so they can make the slot machines themselves and have them exclusively in their own casino.