Jacob Cohl

How many actors have to DIE before director Julie Taymor's blood-lust is quenched?! The most expensive and annoyingly-named Broadway show of all time, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, already left two actors with serious injuries before it opened, and now one of the show's stars is out of commission with a concussion. BroadwayWorld.com reports that Natalie Mendoza, who plays the lead role of Arachne, was hit in the head by a rope during the show's first preview, but the extent of her injury wasn't realized until yesterday, when she fell ill and wasn't able to perform. It's a bit scary, considering what happened to Natasha Richardson! Also, a rope?!

Mendoza's understudy, America Olivo, is now stepping into the deathtrap role. Break a leg, Olivo—er, have fun out there! Mendoza's injury comes as the $50 million dollar production struggles to work out a host of technical kinks; during the very first preview performance, Mendoza was left hanging in the air for about seven minutes while stagehands tried to get her down. And during a performance for ticket agents last month, Kevin Aubin, an aerialist, broke both his wrists. The Post reports that in a separate incident while rehearsing the show, another actor broke his foot. But no matter, these are just small sacrifices that every artist must make to create a theatrical MASTERPIECE!