Joubert, who spoke with Playbill.com at 12:30 PM ET Dec. 22, could not elaborate on Tierney's condition, but did add that medical staff are conducting hourly walk-throughs to check on the actor's status. CNN previously reported that Tierney suffered broken ribs and internal bleeding from his 20-30 feet fall.
Spider-Man marks the Broadway debut for the young performer, who was a featured actor and dancer in "Across the Universe," which was also directed by Spider's Julie Taymor. He has also worked with the dance companies Hubbard Street, Ballet Jazz du Montreal and Houston Ballet, and his other stage credits include the Toronto production of Dirty Dancing and the national tour of Moving Out. In his Playbill bio for Spider-Man, Tierney says, "All his love and gratitude to his family."
Actors' Equity Association, the labor union representing American actors and stage managers in the theatre, released its third statement Dec. 21 at 4:42 PM, which read, "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."
Director Taymor also issued the following statement Dec. 21: "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 all right 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."
The technically complex musical production directed by Taymor, with music by Bono and The Edge, has been beset with glitches and accidents in its preview period. Four injuries have been noted since Spider-Man began rehearsals: In addition to Tierney, actress Natalie Mendoza suffered a concussion during the first preview of the musical. And, prior to the commencement of performances, two actors were injured attempting stunts: One actor broke both his wrists, the other both his feet. Michael Cohl, lead producer of Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, announced Dec. 17 that the new musical will delay its opening to Feb. 7, 2011, from the previously set Jan. 11 to implement changes. He said, "It has become clear that we need to give the team more time to fully execute their vision. Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark is an extremely ambitious undertaking, as everyone knows, and I have no intention of cutting a single corner in getting to the finish line."
The $65 million musical also stars Next to Normal Tony nominee Jennifer Damiano as Peter Parker's girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, and Broadway veteran Patrick Page as villainous Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin.
They are joined by Natalie Mendoza, Michael Mulheren, Ken Marks, Isabel Keating, Jeb Brown, T.V. Carpio, Mat Devine, Gideon Glick, Jonathan Schwartz, Matthew James Thomas, Laura Beth Wells, Matt Caplan, Dwayne Clark, Luther Creek, Gerald Avery, Collin Baja, Marcus Bellamy, Emmanuel Brown, Erin Elliott, Dana Marie Ingraham, Ayo Janeen Jackson, Heather Lang, Ari Loeb, Natalie Lomonte, Kevin Loomis, Kristin Martin, Jodi McFadden, Kristen Oei, America Olivo, Jennifer Perry, Kyle Post, Brandon Rubendall, Sean Samuels, Dollar Tan and Christopher Tierney.
After a canceled Dec. 22 matinee, performances of the new musical are scheduled to resume the evening of Dec. 22.
