Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Will Likely Be Delayed

Will Spider-Man: turn Off the Dark begin previews on November 14th?  At this moment, it is highly unlikely, according to the New York Times.

The New York State Department of Labor was called in to investigate the production after a few actors were left with injuries from the flying stunts during rehearsals, including an actor that had broken both wrists during a flying mishap.  Agents from the New York Department of Labor visited the theater on Wednesday, but had to schedule a second inspection because the production was unable to show them every planned stunt during their visit.

Department of Labor spokesman Leo Rosales had this to say  regarding the safety issues, “The producers were not prepared to demonstrate all of the maneuvers today, as they were supposed to, because they weren’t ready for the all of the flying and aerial work to be shown. We made it clear that we need to see every maneuver before they are legally allowed to hold their first performance. This is a unique production, with an unprecedented amount of activity going on directly above audiences, so we want to see each one of those activities demonstrated.”

And the Department of Labor isn’t the only organization closely watching this production carefully.  Actors’ Equity spokeswoman, Maria Somma, has stated they notified the production regarding unsafe practices involving flying stunts with actors put into too close of a proximity to one another.

Somma stated to the New York Times this Wednesday “”When a show is preparing to debut a lot of technology, especially flying over stage and audiences, we keep a close eye.”

The issues with the two organizations aren’t the only problems plaguing the already troubled production. Unnamed sources with the production have claimed that there is a tremendous amount of creative commotion going on during rehearsals. Flying sequences were still being developed and the music, special effects, and scenes of plot and dialogue were still largely in separate pieces even with previews dates looming.

Just today, the NY Times is reporting that it will most likely delay the start of performances by two weeks and will move the opening date from December 21 to sometime in early January. The musical’s lead producer, Michael Cohl, will set the exact dates later today.

The $60 million Broadway musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, is the most expensive production in Broadway’s history. After failing to raise enough money for it’s proposed February 2010 opening, the production shut down for months and lost two of it’s original stars due to scheduling conflicts. But with Tony-winner Julie Taymor directing the extravaganza, and music by U2’s Bono and the Edge, producers are hoping that Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark will not become the biggest flop in Broadway’s history.

Will Spidey overcome all the obstacles in his way and be a sure fire hit?  Or will he fly straight into a brick wall? Stay tuned…