An accident-prone actor on the set of troubled Broadway musical Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark fell about 30ft during a performance.

Firefighters were called to the Foxwoods Theatre at about 10.45pm yesterday and the 31-year-old actor was taken to Bellevue Hospital with minor injuries, police said. His name was not immediately released.

Rick Miramontez, a spokesman for the production, said the actor fell about seven minutes before the end of the performance and the show was stopped.

"All signs were good as he was taken to the hospital for observation," Mr Miramontez said.

It is the fourth time an actor has been hurt in connection with the production. The show's official opening has been pushed back 27 days, from January 11 to February 7.

The £42 million musical was conceived by Tony Award-winning director and co-writer Julie Taymor and U2's Bono and The Edge, who wrote the music.

More than eight years in the making, delays and money woes have plagued the show's launch. Three other accidents have injured actors, including one who had both his wrists broken while practising an aerial stunt.

The first preview on November 28 did not go well. The musical had to be halted five times because of technical glitches and actress Natalie Mendoza - who plays Spider-Man's evil love interest Arachne - was hit on the head by a rope and suffered concussion. Her injury would eventually keep her sidelined for two weeks.

The show - whose costs easily dwarf Broadway's last costliest show, the £16 million Shrek The Musical - may be about a comic-book hero, but it has now itself become easy fodder for comics, with both Conan O'Brien and Saturday Night Live spoofing the show.