The November 14 start of previews on Broadway for the Spider-Man musical has been pushed back by two weeks and the opening by three weeks after two actors were injured doing stunts.
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, with music by Bono and the Edge of U2, has had numerous setbacks over its years of development, including trouble with financing the $60 million show. That figure makes it the most expensive production ever on Broadway.
The problem now, though, stems from the stunts and special effects. Among the many surprises are characters flying out over the crowd in the theater which has had many technical and performance difficulties. Most recently, a stuntman fell while flying, breaking both wrists and another broke a toe. This has brought the scrutiny of the New York Department of Labor which must give a go-ahead before the show can open along with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Labor department spokesman Joe Morrissey has said inspectors were at the theater on Wednesday but must return on Friday as many of the stunts were not available for viewing. "There are 35 aerial flights in the production
To date we've seen seven. We expected the sequence where two performers fly over the audience yesterday. This sequence was not ready."
Now the New York Times is reporting that Actors' Equity is also stepping in. Maria Somma, a spokeswoman for the union, told the paper "When a show is preparing to debut a lot of technology, especially flying over stage and audiences, we keep a close eye." The union has already warned the production about the dangers to the show's performers in flying too close together as the stunts are currently arranged.
There are also concerns that the show has yet to do a full run through, so the producers don't even know the length of the piece. This coupled with only $8 million in advanced sales (not bad by Broadway standards but not good for a $60 million show) and it looks like there are going to be a lot of long nights over the next few weeks.
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