Batman Live Cancels Dates

Following the announcement that the Batman Live traveling stage show had cancelled four dates in San Antonio, My S.A. dug a little deeper and discovered that the show has also cancelled appearances elsewhere. My S.A. reported that the show had cancelled last night's performance in Sioux City, Iowa, although the rest of the weekend was still on, including a matinee yesterday. A little extra legwork on the show's website indicates that previously-announced shows in Oklahoma and Dallas aren't happening, either. No formal explanation has yet been given for the cancellation, although My S.A. speculates that it's low ticket sales to blame, and that's always the most likely candidate when something like this happens. It could be something else, though; currently, the final show of the year falls on December 16 in Dallas. Before this, Batman Live was scheduled to run through December 30, and so a batch of consecutive performances have been cancelled. Superhero stage shows are not always as safe an investment as their big-screen counterparts; there have already been failed Batman and Superman shows, and while Spider-Man: Turn-Off the Dark has been a financial success, it's been plagued by production problems, including injuries sustained to cast members during rehearsal. Both Batman Live and Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark have enjoyed fair-to-middling reviews, with the San Antonio blog quoting a Hollywood Reporter critic who intimated the Batman show is only good for small children. The New York Knicks recently had to pull an ad campaign that made light of the safety problems on the Spider-Man set.