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Official Statement: New Safety Protocols Underway, SPIDER-MAN to Resume Performances Tomorrow Night

An official statement has just been issued from the production which says that "OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), Actors Equity and the New York State Department of Labor have met with the Spider-Man company today to discuss additional safety protocols. It was agreed that these measures would be enacted immediately.

Tomorrow's matinee has been postponed and will be rescheduled.

Tomorrow evening's, and all subsequent performances will proceed as scheduled."

Twitter was flooded last night shortly after 10:40 PM with messages from audience members at SPIDER-MAN, with word that an actor fell during the middle of Act 2 when a cable snapped. The show was first put on hold, and then cancelled as ambulances arrived on the scene. This morning, the actor has been identified as aerialist Christopher Tierney, who is reported to be in serious, but stable condition.

At 11:29 AM, Equity has released a statement that "Actors' Equity Association is working with management and the Department of Labor to ensure that performances will not resume until back-up safety measures are in place."

BroadwayWorld has learned from several sources that SPIDER-MAN stuntman Christopher Tierney has suffered several broken ribs and bleeding after his nearly 30-foot free fall on the SPIDEY set last night. Fortunately, Tierney landed such that he avoided any crippling neck or spinal injury. He is still being held at the hospital in serious, but stable condition.

For more on Tierney's injuries, click here.

Video of the incident can be seen here.

Earlier, Actors Equity released a short statement about last night's incident, stating that "We were informed shortly after the accident during the performance of Spiderman. We are working in cooperation with the state and city Department of Labor on this situation. We dont have a further statement at this time."

BroadwayWorld.com has also confirmed that the New York State Department of Labor will visit the Foxwoods Theater this morning for its own investigation into what occurred last night that will involve interviews with the production team, as well as a check of all equipment to determine if it was a human or technical error.

Many performers have contacted BroadwayWorld.com both last night and this morning, urging actors to contact the union individually to suggest that they 'step in' and get more involved with protecting the safety of the actors in this production.

Fellow actress, Natalie Mendoza, who herself received a concussion in the show wrote on her Twitter after 4am in response: "Please pray with me for my friend Chris, my superhero who quietly inspires me everyday with his spirit. A light in my heart went dim tonight."

BroadwayWorld was the first to report on the incident as we spoke to an audience member who was there, and told us that the incident occurred near the end of the show when the bridge comes down with MJ suspended in the air and Spider-Man goes after her. Basically, she went down and it seemed he went jumping after her. Then you saw the rope come down and then snap back up. Then all of a sudden, the stage manager's voice came on and said that there was going to be a pause. The theatre then stayed dark for a minute or two and then they called the show and brought the house lights back up.

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