A web of marketing awaits the Spider-Man musical

NEW YORK – Robin Buckwalter is fully aware that a Broadway musical about Spider-Man will be opening soon. So far, though, he hasn't felt a buzz of anticipation about it where he works.

That may be bad news to producers: Buckwalter works at a comic book store.

"I haven't heard any feedback from any of the customers that come into the store," says Buckwalter, the 28-year-old co-manager of Galaxy Comics in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. "I don't see many ways in which the two worlds intersect."

He says some hard-core fans might splurge for a pair of tickets to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries, but that's about it. Really? So comic book lovers won't be lining up when the mega-musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" opens its doors Sunday?

"No," he says, laughing. "I really doubt it."

Such a lukewarm reaction from one segment of comic fans may seem to put backers of the web-slinger's expensive show in a bind, but they are not necessarily relying on that particular demographic to fill the massive Foxwoods Theatre on 42nd Street.

There are plenty of other potential targets: traditional Broadway audiences who want to see spectacle, admirers of its Tony Award-director Julie Taymor and fans of U2's Bono and The Edge, who wrote the music.

"It's a marketing person's dream to work on a show like this because there really are so many ways to reach your various target audiences," says Amanda Pekoe, president of The Pekoe Group, a marketing company not connected to the Spider-Man musical.

Pekoe, who has managed the marketing and advertising for a wide variety of shows, from the Broadway hit "Rock of Ages" to the cult "Puppetry of the Penis," says her first rule is never forget the core audience.

"No matter what show you're working on — Broadway or off-Broadway — your first goal is to reach out to the people who are typical theater ticket-buyers," she says. "No matter how different or unique or eccentric a show is, that's always the first goal."

After that group is targeted, Pekoe suggests going after more niche markets, in this case fan boys — comic book and sci-fi fans, and the audience that racked up big box office for the "Spider-Man" film franchise. And, indeed, producers of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" have taken a page from her game book by reaching a deal with the cable channel SyFy to spread the word and by partnering with Marvel Comics.

SyFy executives feel they can help the musical attract fans beyond the traditional Broadway ticket buyers, who skew older and female. The network — part of NBC Universal and formally known as the Sci-Fi Channel — will beam ads for the show to 95 million homes nationwide and host ticket giveaway contests, among other promotions.

"We think we're going to deliver a really broad audience to them," says Blake Callaway, senior vice president for brand marketing. "We're going to be able to energize their ticket sales."

Those figures are going to be under intense scrutiny because the show's massive costs — a reported $60 million and climbing — mean the 1,900-seat theater will have to virtually sell out every show for several years just to break even. The weekly running bill has been put as high as $1 million.

"We've all read about the amount of money being put into the production," says Callaway. "So they are not going to rely on a single audience to fill those seats. They're going to need to tap into as many segments of the theatergoing public and beyond that as possible."