The audience at tonight’s performance of Julie Taymor’s Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark was ushered out of the Foxwoods Theater after a performer was injured. Minutes before the end of the show, Spider-Man (reportedly an actor other than star Reeve Carney), Mary Jane, played by Jennifer Damiano, and some equipment, took an eight to ten foot fall into a pit. Almost immediately after, Damiano was heard screaming and an ambulance was called.
Shortly after the fall audience member Brian Lynch tweeted the following:
Spider-Man on Broadway. Stopped short near end. Someone took nasty fall. Screaming. 911 called. No idea what happened, kicked audience out
About an hour later, Lynch tweeted another update:
No joke. No explanation. MJ and Spidey took what seemed to be a planned fall into the stage pit. Then we heard MJ screaming.
Details are still sketchy as to what exactly happened, but reportedly the problem was a broken rope. This, of course, is not the first time a cast member has been injured during the production. A release from the show’s press representative said the that the injured cast member seems to be okay:
“An actor sustained an injury at tonight’s performance of ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.’ He fell several feet from a platform approximately seven minutes before the end of the performance, and the show was stopped. All signs were good as he was taken to the hospital for observation. We will have more news shortly.â€
Having already had it’s official opening delayed(for seemingly the umpteenth time) until February 7, one has to wonder what this latest mishap will mean for the seemingly cursed production.
Update (9:15 a.m.): The NYT has video of the actor’s fall (one of their readers apparently planned on bootlegging his theatrical experience), which shows a Spider-Man seemingly diving, head first, off a platform. The Times also found an alarming tweet from Spider-Man actress Natalie Mendoza that says: “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.†Based on this tweet, the Times deduced that the injured actor may be Christopher Tierney, an aerialist and member of the ensemble. Someone of that name did check into Bellevue last night.
Performer Is Injured During ‘Spider-Man’ Performance [NYT]
Ambulances Called, Show Stopped After ‘Big Accident’ in Spider-Man Musical [Gawker]