Actor injured in Spiderman tonight- Page 12

[Gensho]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 5:08pm

I must say I find all of this venom directed at Julie Taymor on these boards is really upsetting to me. She is an incredibly talented and successful artist. From these boards one would think that she herself cut the rope.
Maybe she's a tough a lady, so what. There's no law against being tough. I have no doubt she's a hard worker, look at her vast body of work.
What happened was an accident. A very unfortunate accident, but an accident. I'm sure Ms. Taymor is as upset about this as many of us hearing about it.
Although I hate to pull the gender card, I can't help but think that if she was a hugely successful male director, if she would be subject to this Taymor=Hitler crap that people are posting. It's really so distasteful.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 5:08pm

Bitchez be gettin' redundisizied and ****.

[misto625]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 5:45pm

A thought pops into my head: Does anyone know of injuries that occurred on Tarzan? That was another show that had extensive aerial choreography and specially designed elements.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 7:48pm

Richard Ouzounian's take:
http://www.thestar.com/article/910597--spider-man-team-treating-people-like-special-effects

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 7:56pm

His bottom line seems reasonable, no superhero musicals.

However, CBS, by transcribing their report about the incident from the morning show makes it look as if Taymor's quotes came after the accident, not from a previously aired 60 Minutes interview, which is how Ouzounian reports it too.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 8:15pm

Oh, thank goodness everyone is so worried about safety. I remember that time everyone flipped out and demanded Xanadu be shut down before it opened because the original lead James Capinello fractured his ankle in two places during rehearsal. Or that time you all picketed outside the Sweet Charity revival because poor Christina Applegate broke her leg during the out of town tryout. And then there was the famous Wicked boycott when Kristin Chenowith hit the light descending to the stage on the bubble and needed a neck brace.

You guys are nothing if not consistent in your care for the well-being of actors.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 8:21pm

http://gawker.com/5715609/the-spider+man-musical-needs-to-call-it-quits?skyline=true&s=i

[SeanMartin]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 8:30pm

Trent, you're talking about accidents, not something that's an-injury-a-week as this production has been. XANADU didnt require three (now possibly four) visits from the safety inspectors. WICKED didnt have actors performing complicated maneuvers while suspended over a thousand people without any kind of safety net. And, for the life of me, somehow I just cant seem to remember a single scene in PROMISES where someone jumped from the stage to the front balcony rail. Bottom line is, this show has been seriously pushing the safety envelope, more so than any other in Broadway history. And the envelope is starting to rip and tear.

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 10:34pm

I might believe Taymor, if I ever saw them strapping her into a harness and flying her at high speed over the audience in the Foxwoods Theatre in New York.

Until that time, may they be safe, rather than sorry.

Burn!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 10:44pm

You guys are nothing if not consistent in your care for the well-being of actors.

Well, duh. Julie Taymor didn't direct any of the shows you mentioned. But yeah, she's responsible for those accidents as well.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 11:24pm

trentsketch, you forgot when Idina Menzel fell through the trap door in Wicked and broke her ribs just like this actor did. And when Shoshana Bean sprained her ankle a few months later.

Three major injuries in one show- it's a good thing they shut that deathtrap Wicked down after the huge backlash from theatre fans.

Updated On: 12/21/10 at 11:24 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 11:26pm

Such scathing satire abounding in this thread. Scathing!

[After Eight]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 11:43pm

Odd the priorities among some posters here.

So much indignation and outrage at the criticism directed at Taymor and the show, so little at the fact that people are getting hurt.

Depressing.

[wonderwaiter]

Posted: 12/21/10 at 11:44pm

The "Theatrical Insider" said:

"Look how late into the run of THE LITTLE MERMAID that incident happened to Adrian Bailey. Look at Judy Kuhn in CHESS or Ann Crumb in ASPECTS OF LOVE."

I know about Adrian Bailey and Ann Crumb, but what happened to Judy Kuhn in Chess?

[KT1385]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 12:02am

I know nothing about either Ann Crumb's or Judy Kuhn's accidents either. Anyone care to elaborate on either incident?

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 12:42am

So much indignation and outrage at the criticism directed at Taymor and the show, so little at the fact that people are getting hurt.

Did you not see the first 11 pages of the thread? And the 8 other Spiderman threads? There was more than enough of the latter to go around.

What's depressing is posters who are more concerned with bashing Julie Taymor and the show than they are with the injured actor.

Updated On: 12/22/10 at 12:42 AM

[sking]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 1:20am

From what I've read this wasnt even a stunt...only a restraint harness. NO excuse for that to give way.Do they have so many wire parts of the show they are getting sloppy from too much to check??? You damn well triple check those things daily.Billy Elliot has had 4000+ performances world wide and the wire's never given way(got stuck yes)so for this to happen at start of Spidermans run is either VERY unlucky or criminal, accident is too light of a term!

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 2:38am

According to some local hard hitting reporting on a Los Angeles local news broadcast (ugh...I'm out of town...), a Federal investigation is underway over at "Spider-Man: Please Sign My Cast"!

I'm pretty sure the reporter meant a State investigation is underway -- but that said, if he's right and the Feds have gotten involved...I'm becoming a teabager.

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 3:41am

I'm not seeing a lot of mention to Equity's report of HUMAN ERROR in this thread. All the safety measures in the world wont help you if someone doesn't buckle you in right. When I saw the video, the very first thing that came to my mind was "was that cable even attached to anything?"...that's just how it looked to me.

I understand why people are upset, but let's be upset for the right reasons and at the right people. It's a serious issue, but I feel the angry mob / vulture mentality is helpful to nobody.

[Disneyland Magic Man]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 3:48am

Human error or technical error, it's still the responsibility of the production staff to assure the show is safe for the actors.

Clearly, it is not and has not been a priority for them. That's why Taymor tried to sneak and not show every stunt when the safety board came in saying she "didn't know" they all had to be ready and shown and that's why people are still getting hurt.

Actors have told the press that for many of the stunts that they themselves are responsible for preparing for the stunts... and that there isn't enough backstage help or "time" to assure that there is someone assisting them in this never been done avant-garde work.

They've had years and millions of dollars to make sure everyone involved knows when to fasten someone in. Stop making excuses.

[Disneyland Magic Man]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 3:56am

Brushing the accident off because of human error is akin to saying, well... I don't care if a human being murders me and my loved ones... as long as it isn't one of those pesky robots!

Please. Job safety is job safety. No matter how much you stretch, warm up, and take care of your body (which are the things that lead to most dancer injuries in the business), you can't protect yourself from a faulty harness and a 30 foot drop.

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 5:13am

[Radioactiveduck]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 5:22am

But that's the thing...it WASN'T a faulty harness.

And no, it's not at all like the simile you proposed. What I meant is...lets not demand they close the production just because one person made one mistake (at least, in regards to this specific accident).

If we want to get mad and pressure the producers to hire another stage hand to help with stunt prep, I feel like that would be an EXCELLENT use of everyone's time and words. But bashing Julie Taymor as a maniac who doesn't care if her cast members die (which has been A LOT of the commenting), or calling for the show to just be shut down is the least productive way to go, I feel.

There will probably be an announcement this morning about the new safety measures that were put in place, lets see how substantial they are.
Updated On: 12/22/10 at 05:22 AM

[After Eight]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 5:59am

"So much indignation and outrage at the criticism directed at Taymor and the show, so little at the fact that people are getting hurt."

"Did you not see the first 11 pages of the thread? And the 8 other Spiderman threads? There was more than enough of the latter to go around.

What's depressing is posters who are more concerned with bashing Julie Taymor and the show than they are with the injured actor."


Did you not see the first line of my post? I wrote "Odd the priorities among SOME posters here." (Capitals now mine). That means the five or six posters who just go on and on and on about how unfair people are being to Taymor and the show, while showing precious little concern about the people getting hurt. Not only do I find it depressing, but I also find it disgusting.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 6:13am

I doubt very much that WE will hear anything as to what additional safety measures will be taken.