Spider-Man Musical Sends Yet Another Actor to the Hospital

[Elizabeth Grunewald]

Spider-Man Musical Sends Yet Another Actor to the Hospital

The cast of Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark are getting injured with frightening regularity.

I was on Twitter last night when I ran across the following from Brian Lynch [https://twitter.com/#!/BrianLynch], who was at a preview performance for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark: "Stopped short near end. Someone took nasty fall. Screaming. 911 called. No idea what happened, kicked audience out." Lynch quickly followed with "No joke. No explanation. MJ and Spidey took what seemed to be a planned fall into the stage pit. Then we heard MJ screaming." Lynch was one of the first to report the latest injury to befall a cast member of the accident-prone musical.

About seven minutes before the end of the show, the line holding one of the show's Spider-Men (likely actor Christopher Tierney) appeared to snap, dropping him about 10 feet into an open pit on the stage. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital Center. After the accident, the house lights came up, and an announcement informed the audience first that the performance was delayed, then that it was canceled. The New York Times ArtsBeat interviewed members of the audience, one of whom painted a pretty scary picture of the incident, saying "You heard screams...you heard a woman screaming and sobbing."

Actress Natalie Mendoza, tweeted [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105875-Spider-Man-Musicals-Cast-Dropping-Like-Flies], "Please pray with me for my friend Chris, my superhero who quietly inspires me everyday with his spirit. A light in my heart went dim tonight," which seems to confirm, as no official statement has yet, that Tierney is the injured party.

ArtsBeat quoted the statement released by Actor's Equity, the union for theatrical actors and stage managers, saying, "Actors' Equity Association is working with management and the Department of Labor to ensure that performances will not resume until back-up safety measures are in place." I'm sure the two remaining uninjured members of the cast appreciate that.

Source: New York Times ArtsBeat [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/20/performer-is-injured-during-spider-man-performance/#more-153171]

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[Daystar Clarion]

Looks like his spider sense failed...

http://instantrimshot.com/classic/?sound=rimshot

 

[OctalLord]

It's becoming increasingly apparent, that this performance is doomed to fail. Although Humans being stubborn as we are. Will likely get at least a single show before the entire building catches on fire and they're forced to stop production.

 

[Jaebird]

Seriously, how long until everyone calls it quits, before this atrocity claims a life?

 

[Veloxe]

Seriously, how long until everyone calls it quits, before this atrocity claims a life?

I'm thinking that it will probably happen when, unfortunately, someone breaks a neck and is paralysed. This must be one of those cursed plays people talk about.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

Holy crap. I hope he's okay. I they they should be smart and cancel the fucking show. Too many people are getting injured. Accept a loss and go home people

 

[Harbinger_]

It's called turn off the dark? Maybe thats a good idea. Start practicing with better lighting.

 

[MBergman]

Too bad it wasn't Wolverine: The Musical. Poor fellow would have been back on his feet in five minutes!

 

[BENZOOKA]

"Spider-Man Musical Sends Yet Another Actor to the Hospital"
I've seen this every day in the last decade. Such an unoriginal sentence.

I hope they'll be alright.

 

[Nerf Ninja]

I'm amazed this show is even still allowed to continue.

 

[jaketaz]

This production has seemed so doomed from the start. I read somewhere that they will have to sell every single seat of every single show just to break even financially... that's pretty much a disaster by definition. Plus, look at this picture up here? What the hell is so wrong with people that they can't get the Goblin's costume right? Come on... he deserves better.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Ok, who honestly thought this was a good idea? WHO?

How many opera fans are honestly wanting to see a high superhero flying action scene?

I believe more and more every day that Marvel is trying to make a mockery out of their own biggest name character so they can buy the film rights back from FOX.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Jesus Christ, health and safety, people!

 

[Distorted Stu]

They way the woman describes it, the dude died.

 

[cairocat]

They way the woman describes it, the dude died.

Or at least in a coma or attacked by a facehugger or something.

 

[Cowabungaa]

"Please pray with me for my friend Chris, my superhero who quietly inspires me everyday with his spirit. A light in my heart went dim tonight," which seems to confirm, as no official statement has yet, that Tierney is the injured party.

Injured?! That sounds like he's dyi-

They way the woman describes it, the dude died.

Ah ninjaed.

Anyway, despite all this, I want to see it, for the sheer hilarity of it all. Not the accident of course, that's rather tragic, just the fact that it's a friggin' Spiderman musical. And a bombastic, flamboyant one at that.

 

[Sabrestar]

Mendoza's tweet makes it sound serious. I hope he's all right.

People of Broadway, this is a sign. Shows can survive cost overruns, bad reviews, delays, rewrites, bad jokes, even just being plain badly written. They can't survive people getting hurt. These are accidents, but they're not freak accidents. They're the results of trying to do the impossible.

Put away your self-improvement textbooks and stop trying to do the impossible just because people are telling you it's impossible. This is not "acing the SATs" impossible. This is "eating the sun" impossible. Sometimes, people tell you things are impossible because you shouldn't be doing them.

If you don't stop this project, someone is going to end up dead or paralysed. Forget the money loss, it's only money. One decent play will fix that. None of it will fix paralysis or death.

Cancel the bloody play. Before it's too late.