Contemporary theater depends increasingly on the "wow"
factor. General audiences are no longer satisfied to see a great
performance live without an associated visual spectacle supporting
the performer. With that comes increasing danger to actors,
dancers, artists, musicians and stage technicians.
Recent accidents involving actors and stagehands, on and off
Broadway, attest to this. In Broadway productions of "The
Little Mermaid" and "Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark,"
actors were injured; recently in Las Vegas, a stagehand fell into a
two-story loading pit. While automation systems and their
integration into equipment and scenery may be developing in
complexity, fundamental principles of product liability still
apply.
