Actress Falls Off Stage, in Coma

An actress was hospitalized in a coma Sunday after plunging from the stage into a basement during a scene change in a production of “Camelot.”

Gaynor Young, an understudy who had been pressed into the starring role of Guinevere, fell about 40 feet while the stage was blacked out for a scene change in Saturday night’s performance of the musical at the State Theater in Pretoria. The performance was canceled after theater staff found that Young had plunged down an opening in the stage.

She was listed in critical condition in the intensive care unit of a Pretoria hospital. Doctors said she suffered brain injuries and a broken arm and wrist.

Young was filling in as Guinevere because the lead actress lost her voice after Friday’s performance.