Actor injured this afternoon in Little Mermaid- Page 2

[James885]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 7:24pm

It's a miracle that he broke only his wrists after falling 20 feet. Best wishes for a quick recovery

[Popular]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 7:56pm

So scary! Most definitely wishing him a speedy recovery. This kind of thing should never happen to anyone!

[Tag]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 8:31pm

Well someone is going to get a big payday from Disney.

[LaCageAuxFollesFan2]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 8:37pm

Disney stop. Just stop.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 8:47pm

And someone at ABC News is gonna get fired since Disney owns them.

Get Well Soon.

Wow, the info on Playbill.com is more like an ad for the show, that's disgusting. Updated On: 5/10/08 at 08:47 PM

[fnyboi88]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 9:19pm

They usually mention show info at the end of any story relating to a show.

[Corine2]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 10:33pm

Hope he gets better soon. I will think good thoughts for him.
A talented and nice guy.
Updated On: 5/10/08 at 10:33 PM

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 10:38pm

I hope he is doing better. Wishing him all the best!

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 5/10/08 at 10:39pm

I can't believe ABC News reported that he died. That's horrible.

Anyway, wishing him a very speedy recovery!

[casualtyofLoVe]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 1:23am

I was at the show today when it happened. I was sitting first row orchestra with my friend. Before the curtain came up (at about 2:00) we heard this loud boom and someone scream for an ambulance. Then we heard the sirens a few minutes later and saw flashing lights coming from behind the curtain. It was so scary! We thought a piece of the set fell on someone. Thank god he only broke his wrists, we thought it was a lot worse than that from the sound of it. I really hope he recovers quickly!

[sabrelady]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 1:48am

It's called a Colles' Fracture. It usually occurs when as a survivial instinct when falling some puts their hands out to break their fall and the wrist takes the force. and snaps.

I'm constantly amazed by what stage producers get away with. I know stunt riggers who'd never tolerate the level of accidents on film that occur on B'way.

Hope he has some tangy painkillers and R&R for about 2 months.( Both wrists complicates the physio slightly)

[winston89]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 4:47am

You would think that with the amount of un safe things going on on a Broadway set that someone would do something. I find it sad that producers want to mount these major spectial musicals. Yet, they don't care about the saftey of it just so long as they could save a few bucks in the end.

Look at something like Wicked for example. It is one of the most technical sets on Broadway. It unfortunatly holds the record for the most accidents on a Broadway stage. Sure, after each accident they change how things are done just a tad to make sure it doesn't happen again. An example of this would be the melting scene. Instad of going through the trap door the actress just walks off.

You would think that with all these complicated sets that they would find a way to make all of this stuff safe before opening night so that this never happens to anyone regardless of how long the production has been open for.

[localonedude]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 10:28am

Its gotten to the point that these so called technical supervisor(former stage hands) will have an actor do something that a stage hand should be doing(untieing lines on one side of the stage cuz they dont want to pay a guy to be on both sides) . All to cut a guy off the show. You're trading safety for money. One of the only ways for them to make more money is to cut stagehands(labor)..There are only so many seats per theater,so many shows a week,So the only thing these techs can offer a producer is playing with the labor. If it was up to them there would be 2 operators pushing buttons and thats it . They see it as the more they automate the less man power,i see it as the more they automate the more the need is to watch these giant pieces of scenery moving these lifts coming up through the stage . It should also be a person who knows the machinery and not some assistant somebody or other.No offence ment!. Flying actors is not something to be taken light. Safety is no accident!!

[springstagemanager]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 11:03am

Apparently, he fell off of the ship, and the article was wrong in that the ship was in its between-show position (40-50 feet), rather than its pre-show position (20 feet) as a commenter on the original article says.

My question remains in why he would be on or near the ship without a harness, or why he would be near the ship in its 50' between-show position at all. =(

Best wishes to him--- It's a miracle he survived.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 2:09pm

That is correct. He fell 40 feet. He didn't fall throu a trap door, he fell off the set. From what I hear, Disney is very lax at addressing safety concerns. I am surprised OSHA didn't shut down the show.

[misto625]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 2:14pm

Wow so he fell 40 feet off the boat?? That is quite a fall, he's very lucky he survived. Makes me wonder more about Disney safety procedures but also makes me wonder what he was doing up there as well. No report has said there were other actors on the boat as well, so why was Adrian up there by himself, and where did this trap door information come from?

Once again wishing Adrian a painless and speedy recovery.

[xOnMyOwnX]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 2:29pm

Wishing him a speedy recovery

articles:
The NYTimes:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/11/nyregion/11fall.html?ref=theater

ABC reported that he died? That's horrible! Someone;s about to get fired.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 3:08pm

" report has said there were other actors on the boat as well, so why was Adrian up there by himself"

I doubt he was up there by himself...the show was about to start. I believe there are six other actors up there with him for that scene. Disney isn't always forthcoming about injuries, so it's not surprising that the reports aren't as detailed as they should be.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 3:10pm

I heard (secondhandedly) that he was approaching the safety rigging, when he fell and it was indeed more than 20 feet.
DISNEY and the PR company were quick to put out a statement to cover themselves and he may actually have more injuries.

But, as I said, this was secondhand from someone who works there.

[it'sjustshowbiz]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 3:49pm

Poor Adrian. I hope any other injuries he sustained are not too bad. Wishing him a speedy recovery...

[keen on kean]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 3:56pm

Two broken wrists is more serious than it sounds. It is better than a facial or skull fracture but can be difficult to stabilize and require a long reecovery because of the veins and nerves involved. Our prayers go out to Adrian for a full recovery.

[Elphabuff2]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 5:00pm

No one who'll post actually knows what happened. Doubtful anyone outside of the show will. However, not to be insensitive, but why is the assumption that the actor was not at fault? The conclusion is inferred that it's a manager's or supervisor's fault, but is it not possible that he did something wrong? Not saying that's the case, but I think it could be a possibility. All humans make mistakes, actors included, not just managers or supervisors.

It's common sense that Broadway is more dangerous than film. Theater can't use computer animation and digital editing as film can.

Also, is WICKED really the Broadway show with the most accidents or is that opinion?

[misto625]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 5:15pm

Well we won't really know whose fault it was until a full disclosure is made but that will probably not happen. I have not seen The Little Mermaid to comment about safety rigging and harnesses or anything.

I know Wicked has injuries due to the raked stage and the sometimes physically challenging choreography, especially for the monkeys, but I don't know how many injuries are caused by the set. I would think The Lion King would also have a lot of injuries due to the costumes.

[H.Higgins]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 9:27pm

How awful. Wishing Mr. Bailey a speedy recovery!

I'm a little dismayed by the lack of consistency in the press coverage of his accident. Was it 20 feet that he fell or more? If it was 40-50 like a few of you just posted, why do the articles state 20? Some of the press coverage and statements on here suggest that the accident occur just a few minutes before the curtain went up. So given that information, the ship would have been in its pre-show position. Why, then, is it being suggested by others in this thread that it was in a between-shows position? Facts would be great in a situation like this and the inappropriate coverage concerns me.

Furthermore, the NY Times coverage is the first I've read to actually clarify that he fell from the ship suspended above the stage, thus falling and landing on the stage. I didn't understand the accident until reading that in this thread and in the Times article. The other articles I read contain a press release that states, he "was injured after a fall through a trap door...fell approximately 20 feet on to the stage". This ridiculous description (which I guess was released by Disney Theatricals) makes it sound as if he fell through a trap door, (which unless specified to be the damn ship, one would assume is a cut-out in the floor of the stage) IN the stage and then landed 20 feet later ON the stage. Excuse me? A little clarity in their "official statement" might be a good idea.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/11/08 at 10:01pm

The press release is always going to lesson the fall.
This is so the "arrangement between the company and the injured person can be worked out".

Accidents DO happen and I just hope the actor is OK.