Christopher Tierney News

The New York Times has the first extensive report on Christopher Tierney's condition after an interview with his father. The paper reports that 'Tierney sustained a fracture in his skull, a broken scapula, a broken bone close to his elbow, 4 broken ribs, a bruised lung and 3 fractured vertebrae.'

The Associated Press is reporting the great news this morning that Christopher Tierney, who fell 30 feet in SPIDER-MAN a week ago has now walked again for the first time since the accident. After having successful back surgery mid-week, he is now spending the holiday with his family. They also report that director Julie Taymor visited the hospital on Christmas Eve.

We can happily report that tonight's performance of SPIDER-MAN went off as planned with no stops. Producers addressed the audience pre-show with a similar curtain speech to the one that they've been giving noting that the show was opening cold in New York, that they would see ALL of the show's aerial effects and that Christopher Tierney had successful surgery this week and was on the mend (which received appropriately loud applause). Reports also indicate that the box office has been telling people that the show is now sold out through January 2nd.

James J. Claffey, Jr., President, Local One IATSE has just issued the following statement regarding safety at SPIDER-MAN.

Broadwayworld has learned that Christopher Tierney, the Spiderman stuntman who fell nearly 30 feet from a raised platform during the December 20th performance, still remains in serious condition at New York's Bellevue Hospital. He is being watched regularly and is reportedly in good spirits despite suffering several broken ribs and internal bleeding. There is no word on how long he must remain at Bellevue. He is able to talk and move slightly and, as CBS reported last night, he recorded a video message which was then played for the rest of the cast. Not everyone is sure if the show will play tonight as scheduled (today's matinee was cancelled yesterday as a result of the accident), however sources tell us that a decision about tonight's show will likely be made by 6pm. This performance, which was not sold out on Ticketmaster as of last night, now is.

Michael Riedel appeared on CNN to give his take on all things SPIDER-MAN.

Presumably in response to the flood of Equity members who contacted Actors' Equity after hearing of Monday night's injury to Christopher Tierney, the union has posted a AEA Safety Procedures Statement to their web site, explaining how their staff receives and handles information about safety. The site notes:

While today's matinee of SPIDER-MAN has been cancelled, we're told that all appears to be on track for the show to resume performances this evening, with new safety measures in place. It's been reported that injured actor Christopher Tierney is in good spirits, albeit still in serious, but stable condition. CBS reported last night that he recorded a video message which was then played for the rest of the cast.

Director Julie Taymor has just released the following statement: 'An accident like this is obviously heartbreaking for our entire team and, of course, to me personally. I am so thankful that Chris is going to be alright and is in great spirits. Nothing is more important than the safety of our Spider-Man family and we'll continue to do everything in our power to protect the cast and crew.'

We've just received the following statement from James J. Claffey, Jr., President of Local One IATSE. 'The leadership of Local One IATSE met today with OSHA, the New York State Department of Labor, Actors Equity Association, and Spider-Man management,' said James J. Claffey, Jr. President of Local One IATSE. 'The union will continue to pursue the highest level of safety on this production. For Local One IATSE, safety is and has always been paramount for everyone on stage and backstage and for the audience in front of the curtain. The union will insist that safety checks and redundancies are added to ensure the safety of everyone involved in Spider-Man. The union also sends its best wishes to stuntman Christopher Tierney and its hopes for his rapid recovery.'

Actors' Equity Association worked today with the Department of Labor, OSHA and the production to determine that the cause of the accident at last night's performance of Spiderman was, in fact, human error. Further protocols are now being implemented, including redundancies recommended by Equity, the DOL and OSHA, to address this situation as well as other elements of the production. Equity continues to vigilantly monitor the production for the safety of its members.

An official statement has just been issued from the production which says that 'OSHA, 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.'

We've now confirmed with a production source that representatives from the Department of Labor and from Equity are now onsite at the Foxwoods Theatre meeting with members of the show's production team, stage hands and crew. They will also be examining all of the equipment used during the show as they attempt to determine if last night's problems were caused by human error, technical problems or a combination thereof. It's expected that once their decision is reached, Equity and the production will make their determination as to what will be needed to deem the production safe, and then they can estimate how long that might take before they determine when performances will be resumed. All of the equipment and stunts were examined before the show began performances.

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.

Actors Equity has released an updated statement which reads '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.'

Twitter is being flooded with messages from audience members tonight 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. There is no word at the moment on who was injured, how severely, or what affect this will have on future performances.

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.

Actors Equity, has just 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.' 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.

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 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.'

Twitter is being flooded with messages from audience members tonight 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. We've reached out to the production for official word, you can follow what's being said on Twitter here and here in the meantime. UPDATE: BroadwayWorld spoke to an audience member who was there and told us that it right was near the end of the show when the bridge comes down and MJ falls and Spider-Man goes after her. Basically, she went down and he went jumping after her, and you saw the rope come done and then snap back up and then all of a sudden, the stage manager's voice came on and said that there was going to be a pause and they stayed dark for a minute or two and then they basically called the show.