The show will go on: Spider-man adds safety measures

Miriam Kreinin Souccar - Inspectors from the New York State Labor Department spent the day at Foxwoods Theater investigating the most recent injury on the set of the new musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

The investigation was put in motion after a lead stunt actor, Christopher Tierney, who was playing the superhero, fell more than 20 feet during Monday night's show, suffering major injuries. He was the fourth performer to be hurt working on the show since September. The producers of the musical canceled the Wednesday matinee and evening performances to implement certain safety precautions.

Maureen Cox, director of safety and health for the Department of Labor, said that together with the show's producers, they have implemented stricter standards for the complex aerial moves on the show.

Ms. Cox said going forward a second stagehand will need to check that the actor's harness and tether is indeed connected securely, and then the two stagehands will need to verify that with the stage manager.

“The production company has been working with us diligently through the day and we're working on improving the safety conditions and working on putting in redundancy,” Ms. Cox said on a conference call Wednesday. “At this time we're satisfied they have put in the appropriate controls.”

Ms. Cox said the department was still investigating exactly what happened during Monday's accident.

The $65 million musical, the most expensive and ambitious ever done on Broadway, has faced many setbacks and delays in its attempt to open on the Great White Way. Most recently, the show's producers announced they were delaying opening night by four weeks to Feb. 7 in order to make creative adjustments.

Despite a constant barrage of bad news, Spider-Man has been nearly sold out in previews and has amassed a $20 million advance, a source said recently.

CORRECTION: Producers canceled the Wednesday matinee and evening performances of Spider-man to implement new safety provisions. This fact was misstated in an earlier version of this article.