Shubert Organization Cited for Safety Violations in Death of Stagehand Pete Wright

The Shubert Organization is facing a fine of $45,642 in connection with the death of flyman Pete Wright at the Winter Garden Theatre on November 12 of last year.

According to the New York Times, Wright "fell from the narrow, raised platform alongside the stage around 8:45am while performing routine maintenance, the police said. Emergency medical services workers found the man lying on the floor of the theatre, which sits between 50th and 51st Streets, and transported him to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead." The paper adds that Wright "fell nearly 50' from a narrow, raised platform while performing routine maintenance in the theatre."

Wright, who was 54, had a regular job as flyman at the August Wilson Theatre, which is not owned by the Shubert Organization. At the time of his death, The Winter Garden was between shows, the musical Beetlejuice having closed. The Music Man, starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, begins previews there in December.

Deadline.com reports that the violations "are categorized by OSHA as 'serious,' though not 'willful' or 'repeat.'" The publication adds, "According to [the] U.S. Department of Labor website, the citations mostly involve the use or misuse of a ladder, including the use of a ladder that may have been coated with a material that might obscure structural defects. The citations also suggest that the ladder was not used for its designed purpose or secured on a stable or level surface. Another citation involves employer training regarding proper use of the ladder."

Wright is survived by his wife, Marcie, whom he met when both were working as stagehands on a revival of Grease at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, and their two sons.

deadline.com/2021/06/shubert-organization-stagehand-death-federal-regulators-citations-peter-wright-1234768134/

www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/theater/death-winter-garden-theater-shubert-organization.html