Unable to fix their show's many, many flaws on their own, the Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark production team is turning to focus groups of strangers to help point out weaknesses in their troubled Broadway musical. From Entertainment Weekly:

In an e-mail sent on Feb. 8 and obtained by EW, people were invited to see either the first or second act separately and then fill out a survey and take part in a 15-minute discussion. In exchange, participants were promised a "Spider-Man goodie bag worth over $60." A source close to the production verified the email but declined to elaborate on specific issues being addressed by the groups

Ha! Goodie bags! This is just getting sad now. I don't care if the goodie bags are worth $600, no amount of swag can make up for the experience of having to sit through that show. To paraphrase Hans Moleman, they took three hours of my life and I want them back. (Eh, I'd probably waste them anyway.)

The show is scheduled to open formally on March 15th, though I'm not sure what that really means anymore, considering many major papers, including the all-important New York Times, have run reviews of the show already. Bad reviews. I guess there's still the opening night party? Have fun, guys.

[Photo via Getty]