Quick Takes: ‘Spider-Man’s’ new injury

Bad luck has struck the Broadway musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” again: Another cast member has been hurt in a production that has been plagued by injuries.

This time, lightning has struck twice in the same role. Rick Miramontez, the show’s spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that T.V. Carpio, who plays Spidey’s nemesis Arachne, was hurt March 16 “during an onstage battle scene with a fellow actor.” She is expected to sit out the next two weeks on doctor’s orders, with America Olivo taking her place.

Carpio switched from a lesser part to the Arachne role after her predecessor, Natalie Mendoza, suffered a concussion during the production’s first preview on Nov. 28, when she reportedly was hit by a rope backstage.

Actor Christopher Tierney, serving as a Spider-Man double, fell to the stage during a flying scene in a December performance; other injuries have occurred during rehearsals.

—Mike Boehm

Chris Brown’s bad morning

Chris Brown got a little more than he bargained for during a promotional

stop Tuesday for his new album.

During a sit-down on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Robin Roberts pressed the singer about the legal troubles stemming from his 2009 altercation on a Los Angeles street with then-girlfriend Rihanna. Brown was accused of beating the pop star and eventually pleaded guilty to felony assault and was placed on five years probation.

Brown, 21, told Roberts he was focused on his new album but she kept returning to the Rihanna incident, and he grew visibly upset.

After performing his new song, “Yeah 3x,” Brown stormed off the set and back to his dressing room, according to ABC. The show’s staff heard loud noises coming from the room and called security. When Brown and his entourage departed a short time later, the staff discovered that a window had been smashed.

—Scott Collins

Ja Rule pleads guilty in tax case

Rapper and actor Ja Rule pleaded guilty Tuesday to failing to file tax returns and promised to pay more than $1 million in back taxes and penalties, the New Jersey District Attorney’s Office said.

Ja Rule, whose original name is Jeffrey Atkins, 35, pleaded guilty in Newark federal court to three counts of failing to pay taxes on more than $3 million in income from 2004 through 2008.

The rapper is scheduled to be sentenced June 13. He faces up to one year in prison on each count.

Five days before that, he is scheduled to report to prison in New York to serve a two-year sentence after pleading guilty in December to attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

—Wire reports

‘God of Carnage’ extends run

“God of Carnage” hasn’t opened yet at the Ahmanson Theatre, but the Tony-winning play is already extending its run by two weeks.

The production — which features the original Broadway cast of Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden — was originally scheduled to run April 5 to May 15, with an opening date of April 13. Center Theatre Group announced Monday that the new closing date will be May 29.

A spokesman for CTG said the reason for the extension was strong demand for tickets. Tickets for the new dates go on sale Sunday.

—David Ng

Sonoma State gets record gift

Sanford “Sandy” Weill, former chairman of Citigroup Inc., is donating $12 million to complete construction of a 1,400-seat concert hall and adjacent grounds at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, Calif.

The contribution for the Green Music Center is the largest cash gift in the history of Sonoma State and, in addition to the hall, will pay for a terraced lawn and a 10,000-capacity amphitheater, the school said Tuesday. The complex is scheduled to open in September 2012.

—Bloomberg News

Finally

TNT plans: “Southland,” the police drama yanked

by NBC after one season, has been renewed for a fourth season on TNT. The cable channel has also ordered a new crime drama, “Perception,” starring Eric McCormack (“Will & Grace”).