Flickr - Photo Sharing!: "Dear Oriental Theatre, this is one of your fire escapes during
today's (most likely sold-out) matinée of Wicked. As you are located
on the site of the Iroquois Theatre (site of the worst theatre fire in
history), I would have thought you would have made fixing this fire
escape a priority."
14 comments:
Well, they're gonna have to fix it now, aren't they? I'm glad someone put this picture up and wrote that little blurb, sometimes management just needs to be reminded that, oh yeah, they've gotta keep their patrons safe above all. No one is going to come see a show if they feel like an afterthought. Fix that thing!
Amen, Chapel. We spend (well not us, but the producers) spend incredible amounts of money on the most unnecessary and superfluous things sometimes -- its sort of disgusting when there is such blatant disregard for the safety -- its not as if the funds don't exist to solve such problems. Lets not pretend the producers actually care about the audiences safety or well being, they just want the money. The less money they spend on safety and getting the job done correctly, the more goes into their pocket in the end of the day. Welcome to America.
You'd think that's a big enough infraction that whoever does building inspections would throw a shit fit, especially after that article about the Coke machine and various other small infractions. Not having a functional fire escape is 9000 kinds of illegal.
That is not a ladder...Where is OSHA? I find it so surprising that even on a scale as grand as Wicked there can such menial overlooked details like a fire escape! This just goes to show that producers really do not care about the audience's well being. This is a Titanic lifeboat fiasco waiting to happen!
Just have to say that is absolutely the most dangerous and scary thing i have ever seen! I cannot believe that 'Wicked' even installed in such a place. Certainly the company must have check for safety features and fire codes before they agreed to install and perform?
To play devil's advocate for a moment here: The only potential I can see for this to be passable is if the exit attached to the escape is out of use for whatever reason. Depending on how many fire escapes you have in a theatre (or any building for that matter) you can block certain exits WITH PERMISSION FROM THE FIRE MARSHAL. In this case you must also ensure it is not labeled as an exit. If this had occurred inside than the outside also need not be an exit.
As for my own opinion, it is utterly unacceptable. Especially for the amount that theatre tickets cost these days. There is NO REASON, why this should exist. there is absolutely no excuse on the part of the theatre or company. It should be fixed.
Wow. That's a pretty safe fire escape. Why would a theater even be allowed to house a show (esp. of the size that Wicked is) with inadequate safety precautions? You would think that a house would need to be inspected for these sorts of things before expecting a huge crowd...
Obviously the owners of this building are hoping that none of the thousands of people that pass through their doors each night look up before they turn the corner. Hmmm. I know I'd think things were a bit sketchy ifmy theatre looked like that. But I do think that mberger brings up an interesting point about the possibility of this being a null fire escape that has been blocked with permission from the fire marshall. Let's hope that's the case.
Really? Reallee? Realleeeeeeeeee? I mean, thats kinda ridiculous. If only the design designer of the exit decided to make it a little more safe, then the people would be in a much better situation should a fire occur. That's probably not within the OSHA rules.
That is hilarious. I don't know how that slips by OSHA. And a theatre of that stature should attract enough of a gathering for someone to notice that hazard. It almost looks like a scenic element. The part that scares me the most is that it is above audiences head, which is usually considered an even bigger risk than being put above actors.
what are we looking at exactly? looks just like a mess of steel and brick to me...
Although I wonder if it's really that bad. I'm pretty sure the angle of the photograph is making it look worse than it actually is.
Well those stairs are a little messed up. I hope someone fixes that after that lovely blurb. Theatre is usually about safety and if you want that illusion to stand the audience must stay safe, even if the actors have a 200% chance of injury!
And to think this is on one of the biggest, well known shows on Broadway. Sure, productions cost a lot of money, but please something as simple as a fire-escape! It's extremely irritating to think that someone could be at risk for paying incredibly high prices for tickets and going to see a show.
My question is, how did this get missed in building inspections? Fire Marshall anyone?
Like many, I want to reiterate that safety is our number one priority in the theater. It comes before the design and direction and is far more important than anything else we can do. If an actor doesn't feel safe, they CANNOT create an acceptable illusion for the audience to get sucked into. If the audience does not feel safe, they will not enjoy the show and will not be invested in it, hurting the overall integrity of the performance.
If everyone feels (and is) safe, then, and only then, can the show go on.
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