Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark 2011 - Articles Page 23

Just released from Rick Miramontez, Spokesperson for the show - This evening's performance of 'SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark' will take place as planned at 8 p.m. at The Foxwoods Theatre.'

Assemblyman Rory Lancman (Chair, Assembly Subcommittee on Workplace Safety), Senator Eric Adams, Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried ( who represents the theater district) today held a press conference in front of the Foxwood Theater, the home of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark,' to discuss the safety issues surrounding the production and the need for proper safety regulations and oversight of aerial performances. Joining them were representatives from Actors' Equity (Paige Price, First Vice President; and Carol Waaser, Acting Executive Director).

Assemblyman Rory Lancman (Chair, Assembly Subcommittee on Workplace Safety), Senator Eric Adams, Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried ( who represents the theater district) today held a press conference in front of the Foxwood Theater, the home of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark,' to discuss the safety issues surrounding the production and the need for proper safety regulations and oversight of aerial performances.

James J. Claffey, Jr., President, Local One IATSE has just issued the following statement regarding safety at SPIDER-MAN.

News of SPIDER-MAN's trials has now gone international, and inspired Japanese animators to share the story their way via NMA TV. Click below to watch SPIDEY's Japanese animation treatment usually reserved for celebrity/world news!

There were only small crowds tonight of the Foxwoods Theatre, with the majority of this evening's sold out crowd having received word earlier that tonight's show would be cancelled.

The New York Times has just revealed details of the new safety plan for SPIDER-MAN. 'Under the new plan, one offstage crew member will attach the harness and related cables, wires, or tethers to the actors, and a second stagehand will verify that the attachments are made. That second stagehand will then verbally notify a stage manager that the attachment is safely connected. The actor will also verify that the attachment is made. Previously, only one stagehand made the attachment; there was no second stagehand to verify or communicate with the stage manager, and the actor was not required to check his harness.'

The following Statement from Rick Miramontez, SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark spokesperson was released last night. The show is expected to resume performances Thursday evening.

Broadwayworld has learned that Christopher Tierney, the Spiderman stuntman who fell nearly 30 feet from a raised platform during the December 20th performance, still remains in serious condition at New York's Bellevue Hospital. He is being watched regularly and is reportedly in good spirits despite suffering several broken ribs and internal bleeding. There is no word on how long he must remain at Bellevue. He is able to talk and move slightly and, as CBS reported last night, he recorded a video message which was then played for the rest of the cast. Not everyone is sure if the show will play tonight as scheduled (today's matinee was cancelled yesterday as a result of the accident), however sources tell us that a decision about tonight's show will likely be made by 6pm. This performance, which was not sold out on Ticketmaster as of last night, now is.

Michael Riedel appeared on CNN to give his take on all things SPIDER-MAN.

While today's matinee of SPIDER-MAN has been cancelled, we're told that all appears to be on track for the show to resume performances this evening, with new safety measures in place. It's been reported that injured actor Christopher Tierney is in good spirits, albeit still in serious, but stable condition. CBS reported last night that he recorded a video message which was then played for the rest of the cast.

Director Julie Taymor has just released the following statement: 'An accident like this is obviously heartbreaking for our entire team and, of course, to me personally. I am so thankful that Chris is going to be alright and is in great spirits. Nothing is more important than the safety of our Spider-Man family and we'll continue to do everything in our power to protect the cast and crew.'

We've just received the following statement from James J. Claffey, Jr., President of Local One IATSE. 'The leadership of Local One IATSE met today with OSHA, the New York State Department of Labor, Actors Equity Association, and Spider-Man management,' said James J. Claffey, Jr. President of Local One IATSE. 'The union will continue to pursue the highest level of safety on this production. For Local One IATSE, safety is and has always been paramount for everyone on stage and backstage and for the audience in front of the curtain. The union will insist that safety checks and redundancies are added to ensure the safety of everyone involved in Spider-Man. The union also sends its best wishes to stuntman Christopher Tierney and its hopes for his rapid recovery.'

Actors' Equity Association worked today with the Department of Labor, OSHA and the production to determine that the cause of the accident at last night's performance of Spiderman was, in fact, human error. Further protocols are now being implemented, including redundancies recommended by Equity, the DOL and OSHA, to address this situation as well as other elements of the production. Equity continues to vigilantly monitor the production for the safety of its members.

There's no doubt that this is a hot button issue on the Rialto today, it's on the front page of AOL, TMZ, etc. and even people who know nothing about Broadway are being exposed to the horrifying video footage from last night.

An official statement has just been issued from the production which says that 'OSHA, Actors Equity and the New York State Department of Labor have met with the Spider-Man company today to discuss additional safety protocols. It was agreed that these measures would be enacted immediately. Tomorrow's matinee has been postponed and will be rescheduled. Tomorrow evening's, and all subsequent performances will proceed as scheduled.'

We've now confirmed with a production source that representatives from the Department of Labor and from Equity are now onsite at the Foxwoods Theatre meeting with members of the show's production team, stage hands and crew. They will also be examining all of the equipment used during the show as they attempt to determine if last night's problems were caused by human error, technical problems or a combination thereof. It's expected that once their decision is reached, Equity and the production will make their determination as to what will be needed to deem the production safe, and then they can estimate how long that might take before they determine when performances will be resumed. All of the equipment and stunts were examined before the show began performances.

BroadwayWorld has learned from several sources that SPIDER-MAN stuntman Christopher Tierney has suffered several broken ribs and bleeding after his nearly 30-foot free fall on the SPIDEY set last night. Fortunately, Tierney landed such that he avoided any crippling neck or spinal injury. He is still being held at the hospital in serious, but stable condition.

Actors Equity has released an updated statement which reads '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.'

Twitter is being flooded with messages from audience members tonight at SPIDER-MAN, with word that an actor fell during the middle of Act 2 when a cable snapped. The show was first put on hold, and then cancelled as ambulances arrived on the scene. There is no word at the moment on who was injured, how severely, or what affect this will have on future performances.

BroadwayWorld.com has also confirmed that the New York State Department of Labor will visit the Foxwoods Theater this morning for its own investigation into what occurred last night that will involve interviews with the production team, as well as a check of all equipment to determine if it was a human or technical error.