“The Little Mermaid” Actor Falls Into Trap And Breaks Wrist

Note to “The Little Mermaid” actor Adrian Bailey: they usually tell you to “break a leg” when you go onstage:

An actor in the Broadway show “The Little Mermaid” fell through a trap door on the deck of a suspended boat and onto the stage just before the start of the Saturday matinee performance, a spokesman for the production company said.

The actor was taken to Bellevue Hospital Center with broken wrists, and the performance continued after about a 60-minute delay, said the spokesman, Chris Boneau. The curtain had not yet been raised, so no one in the audience witnessed the fall, Mr. Boneau said.

The actor, Adrian Bailey, a 51-year old ensemble cast member, performs as a sailor in the opening scene of the play at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, at 205 West 46th Street.

He was with other actors on the boat, which starts out high above the stage and descends. But just before the start of the play at 2 p.m., Mr. Bailey fell through the trap door and landed 20 feet below on the stage, Mr. Boneau said. The Fire Department said it had received reports that a man had fallen 30 to 40 feet in the theater.

“I heard a thud and a couple of people gasping,” said Jim Robinson, 46, from Eatontown, N.J., who was there with his 6-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son.

Who says there isn’t enough spontaneity in modern theater?