From the New York Times, yesterday:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/inspectors-to-review-flying-safety-for-spider-man-musical/ArtsBeat - New York Times Blog
November 2, 2010, 5:08 pm
Inspectors To Review Flying Safety for ‘Spider-Man’ Musical
By PATRICK HEALY
Inspectors from the New York State Department of Labor will visit Broadway’s Foxwoods Theater on Wednesday to examine the flying and safety devices and watch some of the aerial stunts for the upcoming musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” which is expected to feature acrobatic flying that is unprecedented for Broadway.
The inspection has been in the offing for months, but it also comes two weeks after a flying technique in the show went awry, resulting in two broken wrists for actor Kevin Aubin. During the stunt, Mr. Aubin was launched from the back of the stage like a slingshot, landing again with serious force at the lip of the stage.
Under state law, shows like “Spider-Man” are not legally allowed to hold public performances until state inspectors review and approve special effects such as flying, said Leo Rosales, a department spokesman, on Tuesday. The inspectors usually issue findings a few days after their visit; they can seek or demand changes to promote safety, which producers usually accept rather than risk a delay in performances, Mr. Rosales said.
“The flying in this musical is unprecedented for Broadway, and we’re going to urge the producers to make sure everything is as safe as possible,” he said.
Asked if Mr. Aubin’s accident would influence the inspectors’ work, Mr. Rosales said the department was conducting a separate investigation of the sling-shot technique, which also caused foot injuries for a second actor this fall. That investigation is still underway.
Actors’ Equity is also looking into Mr. Aubin’s accident, which is standard after performance-related injuries, according to a spokeswoman for the union. “When a show is preparing to debut a lot of technology, especially flying over stage and audiences, we keep a close eye,” said the spokeswoman, Maria Somma.
Safety is not a new issue for the $60-million production, far and away the most expensive in Broadway history. Ms. Somma said that Actors’ Equity officials were in the theater this fall and watched as two different flying sequences were being rehearsed in the air at the same time, close to one another. The officials notified the production team that rehearsing the two sequences in such proximity was “unsafe,” Ms. Somma said, and the creative team immediately made changes.
“We have a system in place to watch over safety, whether it’s reviews during rehearsals or our union members working as stage managers on the show, or drive-by spot checks after a show opens,” Ms. Somma said.
A “Spider-Man” spokesman said on Tuesday that the producers had no comment on the upcoming inspections and the fact-finding about the sling-shot flying effect.
So much technical rehearsal is still to be done on “Spider-Man” that some veteran Broadway producers have begun to privately predict that preview performances, set to start on Nov. 14, will be delayed. Directed by Julie Taymor, a Tony Award winner for “The Lion King,” and with music by U2’s Bono and the Edge, “Spider-Man” seems likely to become the most technically complex show ever mounted on Broadway, given the amount of flying, special effects, moving scenery, and sound and lighting design inside the Foxwoods Theater, one of Broadway’s largest houses.
The “Spider-Man” spokesman, Rick Miramontez, said that preview performances were still scheduled to begin Nov. 14.