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Andy Karl, Star of Musical ‘Groundhog Day,’ Is Injured During Preview Andy Karl, Star of Musical ‘Groundhog Day,’ Is Injured During Preview
(35 minutes later)
Andy Karl, the star of the new Broadway musical “Groundhog Day,” was injured during a preview performance on Friday night, Andy Karl, the star of the new Broadway musical “Groundhog Day,” injured his knee during a preview performance Friday night, just three days before the show was scheduled to open.
forcing the show to be paused for about 15 minutes while a doctor was sought and requiring the actor to finish the night using a walking stick. The moment was dramatic — the show was stopped while an an announcer asked a version of the classic line, “Is there a doctor in the house?” — and Mr. Karl, apparently in pain, required a walking stick to finish the show and was visibly in tears at the curtain call.
The injury to Mr. Karl, who plays the weatherman Phil Connors, came at a crucial time for the show, which is scheduled to open Monday night, and which must open by April 27 to be eligible for this season’s Tony Awards. On Saturday morning, the show’s producers said they would cancel the Saturday matinee performance, and that Mr. Karl’s understudy, Andrew Call, would for the first time go on in the lead role, of the weatherman Phil Connors, on Saturday night. The show had no scheduled performances on Sunday, and a spokesman said a decision would be made later in the weekend about whether the opening, scheduled for Monday night, would proceed.
The show’s producers issued a brief statement late Friday, which did not include the status of the show’s two scheduled performances on Saturday, or its opening on Monday: “Groundhog Day” has been one of the most anticipated new musicals of the current Broadway season, after a well-received production at the Old Vic Theater in London. At the Olivier Awards — London’s analog to the Tonys — on April 9, “Groundhog Day” was named the best new musical, and Mr. Karl, who led the British production, was named the best actor in a musical.
UPDATE: The actor, in a post on Instagram early Saturday morning, said he had hurt his knee, and would need to see another doctor before figuring out how to proceed. “I’m home now and I have no broken bones but tweaked my knee after a poorly landed leap frog,” he wrote. “I’m gonna get it looked at by specialist before I go back on stage.” Mr. Karl is a highly regarded Broadway performer, and “Groundhog Day,” which was developed around his performance, is expected to be a breakout role for him. His last two Broadway appearances, as a self-regarding action film star in “On the Twentieth Century” in 2015 and as in the physically strenuous title role of “Rocky” in 2014, were both nominated for Tony awards, but “Rocky” was a disappointment because the show flopped.
In a statement posted on Instagram early Saturday morning, after a late-night trip to the emergency room, Mr. Karl said he had hurt his knee, and would need to see another doctor before figuring out how to proceed. “I’m home now and I have no broken bones but tweaked my knee after a poorly landed leap frog,” he wrote. “I’m gonna get it looked at by specialist before I go back on stage.”
The show, directed by Matthew Warchus, is technically complex, with five turntables built into the floor, and the turntables have jammed several times during previews, causing significant disruptions to performances. But Mr. Karl’s injury on Friday was unrelated to that issue, according to a spokesman for the production.The show, directed by Matthew Warchus, is technically complex, with five turntables built into the floor, and the turntables have jammed several times during previews, causing significant disruptions to performances. But Mr. Karl’s injury on Friday was unrelated to that issue, according to a spokesman for the production.
The injury occurred about 15 minutes before the end of the show, on a night with many journalists in the audience, as critics prepared to render their verdicts. When the show resumed, Mr. Karl leaned on the stick and on a castmate to stand, and added a joke about his injury. (Instead of urging another character to “shake a leg,” he quipped, “What, you hurt your leg or something?”) He appeared to be in tears during the curtain call. The injury occurred about 15 minutes before the end of the show, on a night with many journalists in the audience, as critics prepared to render their verdicts. When the show resumed, Mr. Karl leaned on the stick and on a castmate to stand, and added a joke about his injury. (Instead of urging another character to “shake a leg,” he quipped, “What, you hurt your leg or something?”) Many in the audience cheered his decision to return to the show as a testament to the “show must go on” credo held by many actors.
The musical, featuring music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a book by Danny Rubin, is adapted from the 1993 film, and began its life in London, where it was well received. This week, the London production was named the best new musical, and Mr. Karl was named the best actor in a musical, at the annual Olivier Awards. The musical, featuring music and lyrics by Tim Minchin and a book by Danny Rubin, is adapted from the 1993 film.
Mr. Karl is a two-time Tony nominee, including for playing the physically strenuous title role in the stage musical version of “Rocky.” He is married to the singer Orfeh, who posted a short update to Twitter late Friday night.