IT’S A BIRD… IT’S A PLANE… IT’S SUPERMAN!
Dir. Jack Regas, 1975
United States. 92 min.
In English.

MONDAY, JUNE 2 – 10 PM
SATURDAY, JUNE 14 – MIDNIGHT

No, this isn’t a holdover from our previous superhero installment of $pectacle $ells Out!. Believe it or not, this is an entirely original (albeit short-lived) theatrical work featuring America’s favorite Big Blue Boy Scout.

Three years before Christopher Reeve’s iconic big-screen turn as the character, audiences were treated(?) to this made-for-TV adaptation of one of Broadway’s most notorious flops. The original musical, composed by the late Charles Strouse with lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman & Robert Benton (both of whom, ironically, still went on to co-author the 1978 film adaptation) opened in March of 1966, and closed just a few months later after a mere 129 performances, at the time earning the title of Broadway’s biggest box office bomb with an unprecedented $600,000 in lost revenue.

Needless to say, the producers of this 1975 TV special were a bit wary of adapting the musical in its original form and insisted on major overhauls to the production, which included significantly re-writing the book, eschewing much of the supporting cast, cutting out several musical numbers, and re-imagining others to fit a more contemporary, kid-friendly sensibility, for better and worse (mostly worse). But what this adaptation lacks in integrity, it more than makes up for in sheer camp value and unfettered silliness, replete with tap-dancing villains, a comically insecure Man of Steel, and a budget so non-existent that most of its special effects (including Superman “flying”) take place off screen. While fans of the Donner film may not appreciate it, “fans” of comic book-to-Broadway shitshows like SPIDER-MAN: TURN OF THE DARK or BARBARELLA most certainly will.