The 'Spider-Man' slings the blues

The problem-plagued, acrobatically challenging musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" appeared to be headed toward an early stage-door exit yesterday as authorities investigated an aerialist's horrific fall during one of the show's many stunts.Some investors were calling for the production to close permanently to avoid future accidents like the one Monday night that left stunt double Christopher Tierney nursing broken ribs and internal bleeding at Bellevue Hospital.
Another warned, "Act One is almost over. Act Two will be in the courtroom" -- predicting a slew of lawsuits by injured actors and angry investors.Producers canceled today's matinee to make changes in safety procedures, while assuring that scheduled preview

performances would resume tonight.But a source close to the comic-book-inspired show doubted that would be possible.

The Foxwoods Theatre was crawling yesterday with investigators from the state Department of Labor, the federal

Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the FDNY.

OSHA has been eyeing the troubled show since early November, when it was called in by the Labor Department

because of safety concerns.

It was the first time that Labor -- which oversees the safety of stunts performed onstage -- has ever requested OSHA's

help on a Broadway show.

Actors' Equity -- the union that represents Broadway performers -- said an initial probe found that Tierney's accident

"was, in fact, human error," but did not elaborate.

His fall couldn't have come at a worse time for the show, which is sold out for the remainder of the year, and

desperately needs the $1.7 million that the last week of ticket sales would bring in just to cover operating costs.

The show's latest scary plot twist began near the end of the performance, when Tierney -- who was stunt-doubling as

Spider-Man -- fell up to 30 feet off a ramp into the pit of the West 42nd Street theater.

"I was in shock. Everyone was," said Christine Border, 33, of upstate Clinton, who was in the audience."Right after it happened, there was silence in the crowd. No one was sure what happened. It was eerie."

The actor's fall brought the show to an abrupt end seven minutes early.Tierney, 31, was wearing a harness and a wire that should have safely lifted him into the air -- but it failed to do so.Scott Fisher, whose company built some of the equipment for the show, but not the piece involved in Monday's accident, said, "The stage crew would have been responsible for hooking him up."