State department of labor closes Spiderman tonight- Page 4

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 11:17pm

Thank you, love.

I do applaud them for trying. I must admit that having this show opening on Broadway seemed like an awful idea to most of us.

But it is a matter of perspective. It must be wonderful to see all Broadway theaters operating at full capacity. Only a show of the magnitude and power of convocation such a Spider-Man has the potential to be the first hit at that house.

It is blockbusters like these that bring crowds and give theater goers other options. It opens the doors to everything else. Then other producers can also risk artistically as well.

As Broadway lovers, I wish we could all acknowledge
that having a show like this running succesfully can only benefit us all.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 11:24pm

"I'm sorry. I'm all for safety and all in the show, but if it comes down to politicians shutting the show down, I think that'll be a very sad day for Broadway and art in general."

The issue at this point has very little to do with art at all. At this conjuncture, it's about guaranteeing a safe working environment, just like any factory or warehouse or what have you.

If anything, these incidences further expose how woefully unprepared the show was for paying audiences.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 11:25pm

Does anyone know how much training the actors and stunt doubles actually received for this production? I know that in the circus, acrobats and trapeze artists train for YEARS before they're allowed to 'go it alone'.

[Kad]

Posted: 12/22/10 at 11:27pm

I believe they started working flying stuff before its initial year delay. I don't know if that continued through the delay. Then they began again in the late summer.

[singtopher]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 10:25am

What about swings, understudies, and replacements? How much training have they had/will have?

[KylieS]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 10:47am

Good question, sing. I'd also want to know whether they looked to hire people who had any real experience with trapeze work or these kinds of stunts.

One thing that worries me is the more accidents there are the more accidents there seem likely to be. First because they're running down their lists of replacements, but also because I can't see how any actor/replacement in this show could be less than terrified right now, and if that terror leads to even a split-second's hesitation in a critical moment, that could be fatal. I think confidence is incredibly important in performing stunts like these, and with this much going on, how could anyone possibly be perfectly confident? I don't see how anyone could.

I've always been of the belief that this sort of crazy spectacular is not what Broadway should be about, but before it was a matter of philosophy. Now it's a matter of practicality: you cannot do things like this with live actors in a Broadway theater, and the price is serious injuries. If this kind of astonishing grand spectacle is what a director wants, s/he can either a. apply to direct a show at the circus or b. make a movie with lots of CGI and release it in IMAX. You just can't threaten people's lives night after night this way, nor do you need to. These effects are what movies are for. Theater is a different animal, and when it tries to emulate other media, something important is being lost... and anyway, this show is a deathtrap. Bring in the tourists with more shows like Wicked and shut this thing down.
Updated On: 12/23/10 at 10:47 AM

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 12:07pm

The one thing that puzzles me about so many people’s reactions is that it’s almost like they think this is the first time that a stunt performer has ever been hurt.
I mean that’s what Chris job was right?
All these stupid stupid comments such as ‘well how much training did they have?’ or ‘I want to know how much training the Swings had etc’ are making my head explode. You can say what you want about the show or Julie etc but these people will have been given all the training they needed to do this job, the wire work was rehearsed extensively. People on here are acting like Julie and co went on the street and grabbed a few people and flung wires of them and threw them of the balcony of the theatre.

Chris was there as a stunt performer and sadly when doing stunts those stunt performers can get hurt, its awful but not unexpected. How many stunt people in films who do wire work etc get hurt? Should all those movies be shut down? Stunt people are hurt everyday either on film, TV or Stage, that’s why these people are known as Stunt people as they are performing stunts.

What happened to Chris is very sad, I wish him a speedy recovery (the people on here who are talking like he will never work again are also ridiculous and alarmists) but what happened was simple, the wire was not connected properly, human error. It’s happened many many times on Cirque De Soleil and I don’t hear people screaming that should be closed down.

As I’ve said before, 2 stunt performers were hurt during rehearsals whilst trying out these stunts (upsetting but hardly surprising), one was hurt off stage by something that fell and ONE actor has been hurt on stage due to a silly human error.

The reason why this is a huge deal is because of the show and its budget, if this would have happened at any other show in New York we would not see this reaction.
Also remember that if you do want to scream blame at anyone how about the inspectors who cleared the stunts last time? Spiderman was given the all clear by then.

[KylieS]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 4:36pm

Why are those questions making your head explode? Some people asked them. You answered them. Not every question in the world is rhetorical. For my own part, I genuinely wanted to know how much training the stunt performers have/what their backgrounds are.

Honestly, if people are getting severely injured ALL THE TIME EVERY DAY OMG CHILL OUT U GUISE on movie sets doing stunts, like everyone is saying, that sounds like a problem too... in an era of CGI, maybe directors should think twice about whether it's worthwhile having people do some of the most dangerous stunts. But whatever. However much you want to explain it away, this many injuries this early in previews is pretty ridiculous. So there's been one major human error in the first couple weeks, plus several other injuries? How many are you anticipating through the run, by those stats?

[dented146]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 5:01pm

This show will be closed for one reason----money. None of the producers will be willing to deal with the lawsuits in addition to the 65M for the musical. If Spiderman was a great show with 100M in advanced sales do you think it would close? The producers would use their " resourses " to convince the gov. hacks that the causes of a few " minor " injuries could be eleminated. We live in the real world.

Are we still drilling in the gulf? I rest my case.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 5:05pm

One very sick aspect of this is that the show is doing sensational business at the box office right now. People are shelling out their hard earned money to see if they can witness the next catastrophe that takes place.

[PopAria]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 5:10pm

Human error sent a man to the hospital and human error sends hundreds of people to the hospital each and every day.

Money trouble will probably close the show at some point in the future, but probably not in the near future. Remember we're dealing with a high budget show with big time people/producers. This isn't Ragtime, or Finian's Rainbow.... It's Spider-Man. Marvel, Taymor and SyFy have a lot of people working with them who know how to create wealth.

[metsfan]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 5:22pm

Um, dented, we're NOT still drilling in the gulf. Obama hasn't lifted the moratorium yet. So if all the oil dollars can't make that happen, I'm guessing a few million Broadway dollars aren't going to go far to influence government "hacks." Whatever those are.

[BroadwayBound115]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 5:54pm

Shame on those audience members buying tickets in hopes that they can witness the next catastrophe.

[Disneyland Magic Man]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 6:29pm

Just imagine how many people would buy tickets If they changed the title to:

Spider-Man: Itll Kill Ya'

or

Spider-Man: Turn Off My Life

The producers are basking in the glory of Chris' injury. You can't buy publicity like that. Unless you intentionally cut his cord... Not saying that's the case, but these aren't Broadway producers... In rock concerts, you'll do anything to make a quick buck. Ozzie bitting heads off animals, Marilyn Manson jerking off all over the audience... One little cord snapping is nothing compared to the two.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 6:31pm

I don't even know what you were trying to say in that post DMM.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 6:51pm

You are truly disgusting.

[dented146]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 7:33pm

I suspect that the producers are nervous every performance. I also think it is silly to believe they are evil. They are simply trying to make a living in the business we all love. But they have made some really bad judgement calls which are influenced by money. We all make the same calls everyday but others lives are rarely involved.

And for the record, metsfan. Obama lifted the gulf oil drilling ban 10/12/10.

[Katurian2]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 7:56pm

[willheim2]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 8:31pm

I just wanted to reply to DMM's missive about the rock biz, and production - I just joined the board, have been a film and tv composer for 20 years, a musical director and composer for a couple musicals. My wife is VP of the largest production company in the US - her clients include, well, everyone over the years - U2, McCartney, JayZ, etc,

Anyway, we both love music and are in the biz - we are coming with our kids to see spider-man and american idiot next week. american idiot is my son's favorite record of all time and we are coming to see BJA sing the role of Jimmy.

An associate of mine is high up in the creative team for Spider-man, and so we want to see Spider-man as well, the sets and forced perspective sound cool. Though I would be surprised if the score is broad enough to keep my interest. U2 is kinda flat for Broadway, right?

And the book sounds like a mess. To me the hardest thing to write on the planet is a book musical.

Anyway, DMM made some crack about rock and roll producers and how they would do anything to sell tickets - look, let me tell you, if this show was produced by the veteran production, stage and tour managers I have known and seen putting together shows for everything from theatres to arenas to stadiums with state-of-the-art rigging, lighting, projection, sets, staging - this never would have happened in a million years.

The remark about MM and Ozzy, look, those are quirks from artists. Opportunistic PR. Has nothing to do with production.

I have been backstage with the Stones, U2, Clapton, McCartney, Sting, and, well really, everyone. The guys that put on these shows are awesome professionals that overcome the most amazing obstacles and deal with the toughest artistic personalities you can imagine on a daily basis.

From our point of view, we keep reading the mishaps and commenting to each other about how this would never had happened in a million years if the show was produced by the people we know in the rock 'n roll biz.

IMHO, you are quite uninformed.

Anyway, it is good fun reading the boards.

I really enjoy much of what many of you have to say, and even the stupid stuff is still good. fun. thank you.


Updated On: 12/23/10 at 08:31 PM

[bandit964]

Posted: 12/23/10 at 9:12pm

"e) The final sequence called "The Net" is removed or altered to eliminate safety concerns."

What is "the net?" or what was "the net."

does anyone know what they are referring to and once they alter it, what will we be missing?

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/24/10 at 12:09am

Has DMM been too busy shrieking to notice the worm turning on his sexist harping on Julie Taymor? Looks like the show went off without a hitch tonight, audiences are psyched, and Tierney's prognosis is good. Well, at least that's what his BROTHER says, but what does he know?

Tierney's brother Patrick, who came down from New Hampshire to see Tierney through back surgery, said his brother would be released from a hospital Friday or Saturday and would complete his recovery at home in New Hampshire. He said his brother is in "as good spirits as he can be," is expected to make a full recovery and will surely return to the stage.

"He's a dancer. He landed on his feet. If he didn't land on his feet, he wouldn't be with us," said Patrick Tierney, of Plaistow, N.H. "He has a strong body and an amazing attitude."

Maybe everything's going to be all right after all.
Curtain Up! Theater goers see Spiderman return

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/24/10 at 12:59am

Thanks for posting that, Namo. The Tierney brothers are men to admire.

Unlike some of the posters in these threads, sitting at their computers and spreading negativity.

I'm sending my karma to the Tierney brothers and the cast--and CREW!--of Spider-Man.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 12/24/10 at 1:00am

I think - and I've said this before - it could well the stage equivalent of the Titanic movie. The bad buzz was out of control, people were gleefully out for James Cameron's blood, etc, etc and we all know how THAT turned out.

DMM is the same as TMM_FAN, right? I felt sorry for him when his dog was oxygen. But I also thought he was like 11.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/24/10 at 11:03am

I think you may be right with that Titanic analogy.

I wonder what DMM is doing for Xmas?

[Katurian2]

Posted: 12/24/10 at 11:12am

Only Titanic was, you know... good. People have seen Spider-man, and that seems to not be the consensus. Of course, there's always time for change, but I don't see Spider-man taking more Tonys than any other show in history (The Producers), like Titanic stole all the Oscars. Unless you want to equate previews of a show to trailers for a movie, which I don't think is entirely fair...