Another ‘Spider-Man’ Performance Canceled After Injury

In the wake of Monday’s onstage accident that left Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark actor Christopher Tierney hospitalized, tonight’s performance has been canceled, a rep for the show said this afternoon. He insisted that tomorrow’s night’s performance is “on,” and called reports that the show has been shut down “absolutely false.”

Tonight’s show was canceled so that new safety measures involving actors attached to harnesses — as Tierney was — can be rehearsed, spokesman Rick Miramontez said.

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At a private meeting Tuesday, cast members reportedly questioned and challenged director Julie Taymor about the show’s safety and whether adequate preparations are in place. The show is the most complex in Broadway history and involves two dozen aerial sequences, among other complicated scenes.

Taymor reportedly responded calmly to the questions and said the cast and crew’s safety is her primarily concern.

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Despite Miramontez’s insistence that the $65 million show will go on as planned, its future seems grim if another major mishap or injury takes place. The show has been fraught with problems, ranging from financial to mechanical, for years, and three cast members have been injured in accidents on the set since November — most recently, Tierney suffered broken ribs and other injuries in a fall at the end of Monday’s show. A rep said Tuesday that the accident was due to “human error” — he did not specify whether the accident was caused by Tierney himself or a stagehand — and that the show and other agencies have worked together on a safety plan.

Tierney, who is one of nine actors who perform Spider-Man’s stunts during the show, remains in serious condition.

‘Spider-Man’ Shutdown is ‘Absolutely False,’ Spokesman Says [New York Times]