Déjà vu, anyone?
A sixth performer from the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” is said to have been injured during the show’s run last winter – and he has become the first to take legal action against the “Spider-Man” producers. The stuntman, Richard Kobak, who played Spider-Man in some of the musical’s flying sequences, says that he sustained two herniated discs, a concussion, whiplash and holes in both knees as a result of errors by crew members in charge of programming the aerial rigging computer.
In legal papers filed in State Supreme Court in New York on Tuesday, a lawyer for Mr. Kobak asked the “Spider-Man” producers for documents, e-mail and other material dealing with the computer system and the concerns of Mr. Kobak, who said in an affidavit that he had warned the show’s aerial designer, Scott Rogers, at that time that the stunts weren’t working properly.
According to the legal papers, Mr. Kobak had replaced another stuntman, Christopher Tierney, who was injured after a 30-foot fall from a platform at the Dec. 20, 2010, performance. (Mr. Tierney’s injury was caused by human error; he recovered and rejoined the show.) Mr. Kobak asserts that because of the weight difference between himself and Mr. Tierney the computer system needed to be recalibrated to slow down and soften Mr. Kobak’s landings on stage after flight sequences. He asked Mr. Rogers about this, according to the court papers, and was told that the computer was being reprogrammed.
Mr. Kobak asserts that the computer correction was not made until he had completed 16 performances of “Spider-Man,” during which he landed “very hard on stage.” (He also said he had sustained dozens of hard landings during rehearsals.) He said in his affidavit that his right knee has a hole of .14 cm and his left knee has a hole of .9 cm. He also said he sustained another flying-related injury last April when, he said, at the behest of Mr. Rogers he changed his timing and body positioning during a stunt to align with the computerized rigging. As a result, he said in the affidavit, “I was pulled straight into the wall striking my head and face into the wall,” from which he had the concussions, herniated discs and other injuries.
Rick Miramontez, a spokesman for the “Spider-Man” producers, said in an e-mail statement, “The producers have no comment on the matter except to wish Mr. Kobak, who is currently in the ‘American Idiot’ tour, well.”
Five other “Spider-Man” performers, including Mr. Tierney, were injured during rehearsals in the fall of 2010 and after performances began that November; among them were two lead actresses at the time, Natalie Mendoza (who ultimately left the show) and T. V. Carpio, who both sustained head injuries while playing the spider-woman Arachne. None of those five is known to have sued, though Ms. Mendoza received a confidential financial settlement on the condition that she leave the show without criticizing it.
Mr. Kobak is the latest legal thorn in the side of the producers, who are already contending with a lawsuit from the show’s former director, Julie Taymor; they have countersued her.
“Spider-Man” is the most expensive musical in Broadway history, at a cost of $75 million, and is also the New York theatrical debut of its famous composers, Bono and the Edge of U2. The show opened last June to mostly negative reviews after a long, troubled period of preview performances when the various injuries occurred. The show never had an out-of-town tryout production, which is when most musicals work out their technical difficulties.
“Spider-Man” is regularly among the top-selling shows on Broadway, grossing roughly $1.5 million a week, But because the musical’s weekly running costs exceed $1 million, “Spider-Man” has been making only a modest profit most weeks. The producers have recently begun exploring options for going overseas with “Spider-Man” productions and arena concerts spun off from the show to help earn back the $75 million capitalization.