Concussion Sidelines 'Spider-Man' Actress After Another Stage Mishap

By Christine Fenno Posted Dec 4th 2010 09:32AM

Look out! Here comes...yet another bummer for Spidey!

A third cast member in the beleaguered Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' has been injured on the job. In recent weeks, a dancer broke his wrists attempting a flying stunt in rehearsal, and a different actor sustained injuries to his feet trying the same stunt.

Now, a spokesman for Natalie Mendoza, who plays villainess Arachne, has announced that the actress suffered a concussion during the production's first preview on Sunday, which was a Broadway audience's first look at director Julie Taymor's highly anticipated theatrics (with a score by U2's Bono and The Edge) in action. Mendoza did not immediately report the injury to producers or the actors' union, and she participated in the next performance against doctors' orders.

The incident reportedly occurred offstage when the actress was struck by a rope that was holding a piece of equipment, according to the New York Times. An understudy will step in until Mendoza, 30, returns to her role next week.

The New York State Dept. of Labor confirmed on Friday that it was investigating the accident, and a rep for the agency said: "The production has explained to us the details of the accident. They also indicated that they have made changes to prevent this type of accident from happening again. We plan to follow up regularly to ensure that these modifications are adequate." No further details about "modifications" were released.

Taymor has yet to comment publicly about Mendoza's injury.

The chain of events is now alleged to be: Mendoza -- a slim 5'6" -- was injured during the Sunday performance, saw a doctor sometime afterward (Monday was a day off for the cast members), then posted a one-word tweet on Tuesday morning that said "Concussion," and decided to take the stage on Tuesday night. But a spokesperson for the musical, Rick Miramontez, insists "It was her choice, she insisted on doing it."

By mid-week, the actress had allegedly informed the production of her concussion diagnosis, then fell ill by Thursday, and her understudy has played the role since.

The technically challenging 'Spider-Man' has cost $65 million, twice as much as any Broadway show in history. The musical is officially scheduled to open for critics next month, with preview performances set to continue until opening night.

Tags: bono, Broadway, spider-man, u2

Comments

(16)

Saturday 04 December

By wnwshi

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A third cast member in the beleaguered Broadway musical 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' has been injured on the job. In recent weeks, a dancer broke his wrists attempting a flying stunt in rehearsal, and a different actor sustained injuries to his feet trying the same stunt.I love this , So does My boyfriend .he is almost 11year older than me .i met him via age'lessmate.c'om a nice place for seeking age le ss love.which gives you a chance to make your life better and open opportunities for you to meet the attractive young girls and treat you like a king. Maybe you wanna check it out or tell your friends..

Sunday 05 December

By chante

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SHUT THIS PRODUCTION/PLAY DOWN,IT IS CURSED I TELL YA CURSED!

By JP

Do they need any more signs that this show is a disaster? The most expenisve mistake to ever happen to Broadway. End the huge big budget spectacle shows and stick with the old methods. A litte pizzaz is fine, but Broadway is not supposed to be Cirque du Soleil wtih pyrotechnics and "all that jazz"... Even with all the special efects, I don't think this show will be or is going to be the success the producers anticipate.

By Nick Mayor

Shows like this do not belong on Broadway in the first place. These "spectacles" destroy the art form of musical theater and they cause the already exorbitant ticket prices to escalate. When a show ups it's price, others follow suit even if they were less expensive to produce and have paid back their investment. Spiderman should be in Vegas or some similar venue. I am sorry to see Julie Taymor's talent wasted on a show like this.

By bobbyeve

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They're attempting something unusual and grand- let them work out the kinks, and give them their
chance. This still could be a monster hit! Good luck! Don't break a leg!

By Rolf Leon

This production should be called 'Turn Off the Lights'! The music, like the aging rock stars, Bunno and Edge-A-Sketch, is bloated, overhyped and DOA. Pull the plug on these aging dinosaurs and put 'em out to pasture, where they belong. Bring back “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers”!!!

By hacker

hey buno your no broadway hit ! hang it up ! go help some american kid for a change!

By Robert Skillstad

Somebody's going to get killed for the sake of an overbudget, overhyped Broadway show. That's not normal for a stage musical. They're trying to do too many things at once in this musical without evaluating the risks because the producers need to make back their money quick apparently. All the weird injuries in Spider-Man are enough to turn it into an episode of House.

By bob

this is going to be a huge hit..
just like any new show, need to get the bugs out!

By mhsagal

Somebody said "Macbeth...."

By eric

I was going to post the same thing until I saw yours, exactly right.

By Sally

Make that 3 for thinking that the "Scottish" play has been mentioned backstage at this show.

Monday 06 December

By Zero

What a low budget flop.

By alex smith

I saw this yesterday.Spiderman, Turn off the dark,what a mess. Needs to have at least 45 minutes cut. Lyrics sophmoric (U2@ what were you thinking) and corny numbers, corny. lots of glitches. To the rude woman (who may have been Julie Taymor, sure looked like her) who sat next to me who took notes (wrote constantly for three hours on a pad in the dark rustling paper and would not say why but asked me who I was?)on how to improve this mess during the whole play and was rude to me and rude the man next to me who paid 140 per ticket ,shame on you we're the customers. It was bloated rambling and the music was bad. People fly? So what they do that in the circus too.

By Liquor Insides

Justin Bieber is a vagina!

By Edward

I saw the second preview (which only stopped one time during the performance) and have to admit the flying is spectaular, but there is no show to back up the special effects. The plot is confusing and there is not one memorable song in the show! Not to be totally down on the production, the costumes are great and the sets pretty good. I wish this production the best, but it needs a lot of work!

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