Broadway Lights To Dim For Late Actor Adrian Bailey Whose Career Was Cut Short in 2008 By Tragic Onstage Accident

Greg Evans
·3-min read

Broadway will honor the late actor Adrian Bailey, who died September 22 at the age of 67 following an at-home fall, by dimming the marquee lights of one theater from every theater owner on October 17.

“Over the years, Mr. Bailey has served as an inspiration not only due to his talented performances on Broadway and Touring Broadway stages, but also through his perseverance, positive attitude, and indomitable spirit,” said Jason Laks, Interim President of The Broadway League. “The outpouring of love from our community is a testament to that spirit. In losing Adrian Bailey, we have truly lost a bright light both on and off Broadway, and our thoughts are with his family, friends, former colleagues, and all who loved him best.”

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Bailey appeared in 15 Broadway productions, including his heralded 1976 debut in Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, before a tragic onstage accident in 2008 ended his performing career. Appearing in The Little Mermaid as an ensemble member, Bailey stepped onto an open trap door of a prop boat suspended above the stage at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, plummeting more than 30 feet just before a matinee and breaking numerous bones in his body.

In a 2008 statement to Backstage magazine at the time he filed lawsuits against Disney and other entities associated with the production, Bailey said, “My life has been changed forever. It will never be the same. My immediate goal is to somehow be able to walk up to my own apartment and care for myself. I try to stay positive. I look forward to being made whole some day and being fully compensated for my injuries.”

Although Bailey was eventually able to walk again, his mobility remained impacted. The outcome of the lawsuits is uncertain.

According to the Broadway League, Bailey, after the accident, “continued to inspire friends and colleagues in the Broadway community and beyond, using social media to share his remarkable spirit through updates, insights, and songs with his peers.”

The theaters set to dim their lights at 6:45 pm/ET on October 17 are the August Wilson, Circle in the Square, The Helen Hayes, The Lunt-Fontanne, The New Amsterdam, The Samuel J. Friedman, The Shubert, The Todd Haimes and The Vivian Beaumont.

A Detroit native, the singer-actor-dancer moved to New York before making his Broadway debut in Your Arms Too Short…, and would go on to perform in Sophisticated Ladies (1981); My One And Only (1983); Legs Diamond (1988); Black and Blue (1989); Prince of Central Park (1989); Jelly’s Last Jam (1992); The Who’s Tommy (1993); Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993); Smokey Joe’s Cafe (1995); The Wild Party (2000); La Cage aux Folles (2004); Hot Feet (2006); and The Little Mermaid (2008).

On tour, Bailey appeared in Your Arms Too Short to Box With God (1979) and My One And Only (1985).

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