Spider-Man Safety Snag Delays Opening-AGAIN

The premiere of Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark is moving its debut from Dec. 21 into the new year because of safety concerns about the stunts.

The $60-million production, with music and lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge, will now open Jan. 11, 2011.

The New York Department of Labor started an investigation after two on-set accidents, including one in which an actor broke both his wrists when he was catapulted across the stage.

"Shows like ours that embrace the challenge of opening on Broadway without an out-of-town tryout, often need to adjust their schedules along the way," producer Michael Cohl said in a statement Friday.

The Department of Labor has to sign off on the show by testing the safety of the special effects, requiring the show's producers to demonstrate every single stunt.

The musical directed by Tony winner Julie Taymor, who has also directed the long-running Lion King and the film Across the Universe, has been languishing for years in development.

Based on the Marvel comic-book hero, the play was supposed to open in March 2010 but hit financing problems.

For six years, the musical experienced a merry-go-round of producers and actors. At one point, Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming were cast as Mary-Jane and the Green Goblin. Both left the show.

Dubbed as the most expensive musical mounted on Broadway, the show stars Reeve Carney as Peter Parker, Jennifer Damiano as Mary Jane Watson and Patrick Page as the Green Goblin.

With a 41-member cast, 18 orchestra members and aerial stunts created by a Cirque du Soleil veteran, the show promises "a thrilling experience in ways never-before-dreamed-possible in live theatre."

via CBC News