Performer Kerri-Anne Kennerley has bowed out of a major musical after an on-stage trapeze fall
Performer Kerri-Anne Kennerley is recovering in hospital after she suffered a serious fall on stage, forcing her to bow out of her role in musical Pippin.
Performer Kerri-Anne Kennerley is recovering in hospital after she suffered a serious fall on stage, forcing her to bow out of her role in musical Pippin.
The theatre veteran confirmed she had been treated for a broken collarbone after she fell from a trapeze during a performance of the Tony-winning musical Pippin at the Sydney Lyric Theatre on Wednesday night.
Footage of the incident shows Ms Kennerley being suspended with another performer from a trapeze before appearing to slip and hit the ground to audience gasps.
Ms Kennerley will be among many Australians looking forward to saying “good riddance to 2020” after the incident cut her run in the stage show short.
“I’m devastated that I can’t finish the run. It was just so much fun,” she said, in a statement.
“I broke my collar bone quite severely and have a slight chip of my ankle bone. I will know within a week if I need surgery.”
“But I’m hoping my injury will heal in the natural course of time but for now I have to bow out. I will miss my Pippin family!!”
The actress said her role in the musical spectacular - renowned for its use of circus acrobatics to tell the story of a young prince’s adventures with a mysterious performing troupe - was “one of the great experiences of my life”.
“What happened is just a random misstep in the trapeze and circus world,” she said.
“I’ve always felt safe in their hands but accidents just happen. I was trained well and loved getting stronger and the routine smoother.”
Ms Kennerley was cast as the protagonist Pippin’s saucy grandmother Berthe in a musical filled with songs by Stephen Schwartz the composer of WICKED and Godspell.
Pippin marked the actor‘s return to the stage after more than a decade on TV including stints hosting Ten’s Good Morning Australia, Nine’s Midday and more recently Ten’s The Project and Seven’s The Morning Show.
She has also recorded a self-titled album ‘Kerri-Anne’ as well as one of Christmas tunes.
She had a public battle with breast cancer, and was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame in 2017.
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