'Spider-Man' resumes with tighter safety

The curtain will go up again today on 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark' after the producers of the accident-prone Broadway musical agreed to new safety measures following a fall that left a stuntman seriously injured.

The state Labour Department said it was satisfied the producers of the musical had made the necessary adjustments.

Last night’s performance was cancelled so the cast and crew could rehearse the new precautions, which include a requirement that a second person ensure that the harnesses used by performers during the show’s high-flying stunts have been put on properly.

The much-anticipated production, teaming Lion King creator Julie Taymor with songwriters Bono and The Edge of U2, has had a rocky route to Broadway.

Already the most expensive show in Broadway history, it has been plagued by technical glitches, money woes and three other injuries, including a concussion and two broken wrists.

The show has been in previews for a month and its official Broadway opening has twice been postponed. It is now set for early February.

The fourth accident came on Monday night, when Christopher Tierney, a stunt double playing Spider-Man, plunged about 30ft into a stage pit, despite a safety harness that should have prevented the spill. Mr Tierney was due to undergo back surgery, his brother Patrick said.

The announcement that last night’s sold-out performance would not take place came just three hours before showtime at the Foxwoods Theatre. Yesterday’s matinee performance had been cancelled earlier.

“At this point we are satisfied they have put in place the appropriate controls,” said Maureen Cox, director of safety and health for the New York State Department of Labour.

State officials had no authority to close the show but could have disallowed the heart-stopping stunts that make it special. The musical has 38 separate moves in which actors are put in harnesses to go up in the air.

Ms Cox said an investigation was continuing into precisely what went wrong in Mr Tierney’s accident and who is to blame. Investigators say they are looking into whether it was caused by equipment failure or human error.

“We’re also making sure that the actors and the stagehands know that if everything is not right, they can say, ’We’re not going to go’,” Ms Cox said.

Some Broadway actors have expressed concern about the safety of the Spider-Man cast and crew, who are performing acrobatic stunt work that needs to be repeated eight times a week, some of it unprecedented on a stage.

“Perhaps they should have thought twice about what some of these stunts were,” said Marc Kudisch, whose most recent Broadway credit was in the musical 9 To 5. “It’s not like doing a stunt in a movie.”

Patrick Tierney said his brother would be released from hospital tomorrow or Saturday and would complete his recovery at home in New Hampshire.

He said his brother was in “as good spirits as he can be” and was expected to make a full recovery.

“He’s a dancer. He landed on his feet. If he didn’t land on his feet, he wouldn’t be with us,” said Patrick Tierney, 24, of Plaistow, New Hampshire.

“He has a strong body and an amazing attitude.”

Outside the theatre yesterday, lead actors Reeve Carney and Patrick Page, who play Spider-Man and his nemesis Green Goblin, signed programmes and assured fans that the show would go on. Fans and passers-by shouted out: “Be safe!”

Carney called Mr Tierney’s fall “an unfortunate accident” but said he was confident that performances would resume.

“Accidents are horrible but they happen on every show,” Page said. “We feel very safe and very cared for by our director and producer.”