'Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark' Dancer Suffers Another Injury Mid-Performance; Performance Canceled

by UInterviewAugust 16, 2013, 12:00 amNews >

A Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark performance on Broadway was halted Thursday night when dancer Daniel Curry was injured during the show and taken away to Bellevue Hospital.

In the beginning of the second act, Curry’s leg got caught in a trap door and he began screaming, causing the performance to come to a sudden stop. Stagehands rushed to Curry’s side, emergency responders were called and the curtain was lowered – the performance was eventually cancelled.

“The performance was immediately halted and the actor was taken to the hospital where he is receiving medical attention,” spokesman for the show, Rick Miramontez said in a statement following the incident.

Curry performs one of the Spider-Man roles in the musical (there are nine), according to The New York Times, and his leg was caught in a piece of automated equipment.

“The floor looked completely closed on his leg. They brought out a privacy screen and a lot of people on stage started getting things going. A stretcher was brought out, they were using a saw to cut a hole in the stage floor. All we cared about was whether the actor was and would be O.K.” audience member Melissa Kessler told The New York Times.

Anonymous production workers told The New York Times that they suspected the accident occurred due to an equipment malfunction or human error. They also reported that a performance was canceled recently due to technical problems.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is known as the most expensive Broadway musical in history, costing a reported $75 million. Ever since rehearsals began, the show has been plagued by behind-the-scenes drama and numerous injuries. Most notably, in 2010 a performer fell almost 30 feet after his cable harness failed. He was in critical condition following the fall but made a full recovery. Since then, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark has gotten a new director – Julie Taymor was replaced by Philip William McKinley – and a new set of safety precautions.

In an interview released on Monday, McKinley expressed his doubts that any more injuries would occur on the Broadway set. “I don’t think those [injuries] are going to happen anymore. Our safety plans are higher than any other show on Broadway,” McKinley told the Los Angeles Times.

Curry’s condition is currently unknown, though it is said to be serious.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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