Spider-Man's Patrick Page on Teaming With Bono and The Edge and Going 'Lady Gaga' as the Green Goblin

Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark faced plenty of challenges on its way to Broadway, but you won't hear any complaints from Patrick Page. His role, the Green Goblin, once died at the end of Act One. Now he not only battles the famed web-slinger at the end of the show, he has the musical's only added song, "A Freak Like Me," and a very funny new book scene showing that even super villains have difficulty dealing with technology. No stranger to playing Broadway bad guys, Page has brought his signature deep voice to trouble-makers like The Lion King's Scar and the title character in Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Shorthly after Spider-Man's opening night, Broadway.com caught up with Page to talk about the thrill of working with first-time Broadway composers Bono and The Edge, welcoming Julie Taymor back to the Foxwoods Theatre and how he gets to channel Lady Gaga onstage.

Congratulations on Spider-Man’s opening night! It must be a relief now that the show is finally frozen.
Yes, it’s wonderful to be open. We had a fantastic opening night party after the show.

The show’s original director Julie Taymor even attended the opening performance. Were you able to talk to her and get her opinion on the new version?
I talked to her while we were onstage [at curtain call] and then lost track of her because I got pulled over to the press line and then went straight to the party, but I called her later that night. She was so happy to be there with us, and what an incredible gift she gave us by being there. The press did so much speculation and she gets blamed for so many things that aren’t her fault. For her to stand up there with us as our leader was very meaningful to us.

Are you enjoying the revamped Spider-Man? Your character is in the forefront now and has some hilarious new material, including the new song “A Freak Like Me.”
Well, I don’t think you’re ever going to talk to an actor who wishes his role were smaller [laughs]. To have Bono and The Edge write this great sort of Lady Gaga, club-esque song is pretty unbelievable. It’s thrilling to play, and audiences just absolutely adore it.

What was it like to welcome new director Phillip William McKinley and book writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa on board so deep into the rehearsal process?
It was amazing. Philip is an extraordinary man and director. You’ve got a cast here who’s really learned to roll with what comes at them and simply say "yes" to the moment. Of course whenever you change things in a show it’s hard to let go of bits you like a lot, but that’s the nature of a Broadway musical. You just have to keep your eye on the prize and trust that it’s making the show better.

Did you ever have a breaking point in the seven-month period of previews and rehearsals where you thought, "Enough is enough?"
Rehearsal is the part of the process I’ve always liked best. That’s where you make your creative choices, where you get to play. I loved watching the creating happen and seeing new things go into the show. That’s why I signed up: to work on a new musical. I grew up in a repertory theater, I was a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and we would put up 14 plays [a season.] While we’d be rehearsing one play during the day, you’d be performing another one at night. I didn’t feel exhausted or anything like that. It’s what we do.

After this whole experience, what about the show makes you the most proud?
[Injured actor] Chris Tierney’s recovery was enormous. Chris recovered as quickly as he did because he put so much work into it. I talked to him right after the accident, and he said, "They have no idea how hard I’m going to work [on physical therapy.]" I’m proud of who we are as we company. There was an enormous amount of negative press and misinformation going around, but we always knew, "Oh, next week, this really cool thing is going into the show. We have this problem to fix and it’s on the schedule for next week." Those are things that could get people down, but what I find in this company is just cohesive camaraderie. It’s the only company I’ve been in where the entire group assembles before the curtain goes up and we hold hands and look at each other and anyone can say whatever they want to say, and then we have a little Spidey ritual.

Your wife [TV personality Paige Davis] told us on the opening night red carpet she’s seen the show 37 times. She must have been very helpful during this process.
I get my best notes from her. I really trust her opinion. When I’m directing a show, I insist she’s either actually the assistant director or at least is around all the time. She has a fantastic eye.

The Green Goblin is the iconic Spider-Man villain. How did you approach the character?
The same way I would approach any character, by trying to find out what he really wants—from life, from his environment, from the other characters in the scene—and how his relationships impact that. I read all the background of the character and all the different incarnations of the character. When he started out in the comic books, we didn’t know his identity. He was just a guy in the Goblin mask who showed up and pestered Spider-Man. Then a few issues later we found out it was Norman Osborn. In our version and in the Ultimate [comic book series] version Norman actually genetically becomes a goblin instead of simply donning the disguise of one.

The Goblin’s costume is pretty incredible.
It’s a quick-change [transformation], so there are six people who put me into it, almost like a NASCAR pit stop.

Who are some of your own favorite villains?
The greatest villain ever written is Iago in Othello. I played him a few years ago at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C. It’s [important] to not judge the character and be willing to go entirely from his point of view. Villains need to have humanity. That doesn’t necessarily mean a villain has to be nice. Iago was despicably evil, narcissistic and is a sociopath, but when you’re playing him you need to come entirely from his point of view.

You’ve played another green bad guy on Broadway before in the musical adaptation of The Grinch. Are there any similarities between the two characters?
Other than the paint, not so much, but they do both have a little of their physicality based in reptiles. In their hearts, though, they’re very different. The Grinch is very angry about being left out and is afraid he’s unlovable. The Goblin is just psychotic.

There have been a lot of celebrity visitors backstage at the show. Do you have any fun stories?
That’s one of the wonderful things about doing a show like this. When Joan Rivers came she was just over the moon about the show and said, "Anybody that doesn’t like this show is stupid." Barbara Walters met my dog Sophie, which was fun. That’s a real kick in the pants to meet all those people.

Well, collaborating with Bono and The Edge every day must have prepared you for meeting all these famous people.
At first it was a little weird. You’re sitting there in the room thinking, ‘You’re Bono!’ After a while you get used to it and just try to sing the song. The wonderful thing about both Bono and The Edge has been their willingness and eagerness to find the way the songs work best on us as the actors. Up to this time they really only wrote for their own voices, and here they were writing for a bass baritone voice, an alto voice and a female voice and so on. That was a wonderful surprise to me, how excited they were to have new vocal instruments for their music.

Tell us about working with leading man Reeve Carney. Do you torment him offstage as well?
You find me the person in the world that doesn’t love Reeve Carney and I’ll take them off my Facebook list. The guy is just the best. The thing that strikes you about Reeve, before you even see his talent, is this incredible innate kindness and spiritual quality he has, which he brings to Peter Parker. I think that makes the character very approachable and lovable. I’m kind of his showbiz uncle now.

Does your performing mindset change at all now that the show is open for the long haul?
The great thing about a long run is it can make you a better actor if you let it. It requires that you be absolutely present onstage. I’ve done a lot of long runs because I happen to love that particular aspect of theater. I love that I have this arena every night, which is an opportunity to be completely in the moment. That’s what makes it fun.

How do you relax after playing an evildoer eight times a week?
My wife and I just go home and watch American Idol or something, have a drink and wind down. I have to pinch myself to say, "I just did a Broadway show!" The character is a real high energy character, so it does produce a lot of adrenaline. The makeup takes me about a half hour to take off so I’m always amazed when I come out of the theater and see there’s still hundreds of people at the stage door waiting. I talk to people who say, "This is my 22nd or 23rd time" and it’s getting to the point where I'm recognizing people. I think that’s really a testament to the show.

See Patrick Page in Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark at the Foxwoods Theatre.