The shows that have caused the most injuries over time.

[PopAria]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:54am

I think Starlight Express had a lot of acts where the actors were injured and people were breaking things all the time. Which other shows were dangerous for actors?

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 11:56am

Wasn't the Little Mermaid responsible for a number of fatalities?

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 12:09pm

I actually have heard that many actors walk away from THE LION KING with a bad back or more.

[wdwfreak]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 12:10pm

Wicked

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 12:19pm

Any shows with raked stages, awkward, huge costumes or intense dance sequences are probably responsible for many long term or chronic inuries/conditions that we never hear about. That would include WICKED, LION KING, BEAUTY & THE BEAST and I imagine PRISCILLA (some of those costumes seem like they limit mobility and the shoes look killer.)

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 12:20pm

West Side Story

[WOSQ]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 2:00pm

In March of 1973, a revival of Irene starring Debbie Reynolds was the first show to play the new Minskoff Theatre. Soon many dancers complained of bad backs and all sorts of aches and pains that numbered far more than usual and the choreography by Peter Gennero was not that strenuous.

The stage floor had not been properly installed and there was no give to it.

Rather hastily Irene was sent to St Louis to play a week at the Municipal Opera (and gross an astronomical amount) while the stage floor was torn up and relaid.

[Shows routinely played the St Louis Muni Opera, usually just one current show a season. They would pack it up, load out the sets, fly out, play the week, and return to rehang and resume performances in New York. With 12,000 seats, even at lower prices and out of town expenses and load in/out salaries, the shows would make a killing. Usually 2-3 times the amount possible in New York. Because shows are now technically far more complicated, this practice has fallen by the wayside.]

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 2:06pm

I always thought it was interesting that A Chorus Line printed in their program the number of injuries (it wasn't just for ACL show but just for dancers in general).

[newintown]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 3:04pm

A lot of people were injured in the rush to get out of In My Life.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 3:55pm

well, certainly 'Sammy" at the Old Globe, and 'Napoleon" in Toronto cause me great mental stress as both were painful to watch....oh, you mean PHYSICAL....lol

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 4:12pm

...um, Spiderman?

[Taryn]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 4:23pm

The Lion King does pretty horrendous things to its actors.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 4:30pm

Macbeth.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 4:37pm

Historically? I'd say Macbeth.

Chorus Line does have it's fair share of injuries though.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 4:39pm

In terms of dance shows, though I dont know that they resulted in a lot of injuries at the time, the Fosse musicals have really caused a lot of major hip and joint problems in the later life of his dancers.
Updated On: 11/2/10 at 04:39 PM

[rorschach37]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 5:13pm

American Idiot.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 5:27pm

I saw many of my fellow cast members (and myself) suffer injury in Fame the Musical, lots of dance injuries.

[ahhrealmonsters]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 9:40pm

I know the HAIR revival had many injuries due to the raked stage. Nothing fatal, but there were a lot of injured actors.

[shrekster224]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 9:49pm

Billy Elliot-
Alex Ko injured during his third performance and recovered after many months, and the same month he happened to return, Dayton was out with a broke leg or something along the lines. I've also heard stories of ensemble members being out for long periods of time because of the demands of the show. (Angry dance for men's ensemble, etc.)

[defyingravity11]

Posted: 11/2/10 at 10:11pm

Cats

[BwayBebe2]

Posted: 11/15/10 at 8:54pm

I have always heard that "Mamma Mia" has caused a lot of injuries in both their dancers and their principal actors because of the sheer height of the stage's rake. I did a backstage tour last year and they told me that the rake was just below what was deemed unsafe for actors to work on. Plus they jump all over the place, no wonder!

[sing_dance_love]

Posted: 11/16/10 at 3:06am

Oh yeah, Cats, is gotta be high up on the list.

My friend that was in it on Broadway for quite a while told me that it was one of the first shows to have a trainer on staff. Or paid for them to get routine check-ups or something because people were hurt so much.

I don't remember the exact details, but in any case, enough dancers were getting injured that they had to take some kind of special action.

[chewy5000]

Posted: 11/16/10 at 4:39am

Didn't Promises Promises have chiropractors on staff because of all the head jerking and whatnot in Turkey Lurkey Time? I can imagine a number of injuries, what with that crazy figure eight with flailing limbs. Michael Bennett really was a psycho.

[spike3]

Posted: 6/6/11 at 12:48pm

Cats, WSS, A Chorus Line, Starlight Express, and I believe Dancin' all had their fair share

[PopAria]

Posted: 6/6/11 at 1:04pm

I also heard recently that a few people from Hairspray were injured because of the wigs they had to wear.