21 December 2010
Newsdesk
A cast member from Bono’s 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' musical was injured during a performance in New York last night (20.12.10).
The actor is believed to have been hurt when a stunt went wrong during a scene in the Broadway show – backed by the U2 singer and the band's guitarist, The Edge - where Spider-Man rescues his love interest, Mary Jane, as she dangles from a rope.
A show representative said: “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.”
Brian Lynch, an audience member, described the scene on his twitter account saying: “Stopped short near end. Someone took nasty fall. Screaming. 911 called. No idea what happened, kicked audience out.
“No joke. No explanation. MJ and Spidey took what seemed to be a planned fall into the stage pit. Then we heard MJ screaming. (sic)”
Show bosses revealed lead actor Reeve Carney was not involved, although they refused to name the victim.
However it is believed ensemble actor and aerialist Christopher Tierney – who portrays Spider- Man for some of the stunts – was hurt when he appeared to trip and fall from the bridge, into an open pit at the end of the stage. Audience members claim to have heard the line holding him snap.
Natalie Mendoza, who plays the spider-goddess Arachne, wrote on her twitter page: “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.”
The musical about the comic book character has been delayed by a series of issues, including the size of the 41-strong cast and complexity of the stuntwork bringing its staging cost to a reputed $60 million, and injuries to three other cast members.
The official opening has now been postponed by four weeks to February 7 to allow for creative changes.
