Roundabout Will Hold Relaxed Performances For TRUE WEST, KISS ME, KATE, and More

Roundabout Theatre Company is committed to reducing the barriers that inhibit theatergoing through a full complement of accessibility programs to welcome theatregoers with disabilities.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) announces relaxed performances for 2019 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, beginning with True West starring Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano, on March 2, 2019 at the American Airlines Theatre. Relaxed performances at Roundabout are open to all, and launched in April 2018 with the first series of its kind geared to patrons of all ages during the world premiere of Amy and the Orphans at the Laura Pels Theatre.

Following True West, Roundabout will present relaxed performances for Merrily We Roll Along on March 30, 2018 at the Laura Pels Theatre; Kiss Me, Kate (date TBD) at Studio 54; and the world premiere of Toni Stone on July 20, 2019 at the Laura Pels Theatre. All relaxed performances will be matinees.

Relaxed performances are an inclusive theatrical experience designed to welcome individuals with special needs and those attending with them. These performances are less formal and more supportive of sensory, communication, movement and learning needs; they are intended to present the full artistic vision of the production with minor modifications and supports, including: capped sound levels with house lights set at a low level; materials provided in advance to help attendees prepare for the experience, including detailed directions to the theater as well as plot and character descriptions; and a break area for anyone who would like to step out during the performance. For more information, visit roundabouttheatre.org/relaxed.

In addition to relaxed performances, Roundabout also offers assistive listening devices, on-demand captioning and audio description, ASL-interpreted performances, and accessible seating and restrooms at all venues.

"Roundabout Theatre Company is firmly committed to reducing the barriers-financial, physical and cultural-that can inhibit theatergoing through a full complement of accessibility programs to welcome theatregoers with disabilities. I am thrilled to announce these relaxed performances to further expand our capacity to offer an inclusive, welcoming environment for all our patrons," notes Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Roundabout Theatre Company celebrates the power of theatre by spotlighting classics from the past, cultivating new works of the present, and educating minds for the future. A not-for-profit company, Roundabout fulfills that mission by producing familiar and lesser-known plays and musicals; discovering and supporting talented playwrights; reducing the barriers that can inhibit theatergoing; collaborating with a diverse team of artists; building educational experiences; and archiving over five decades of production history.

Roundabout Theatre Company presents a variety of plays, musicals and new works on its five stages: Broadway's American Airlines Theatre, Studio 54 and Stephen Sondheim Theatre, and Off-Broadway's Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre.

American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company. Roundabout productions are supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Roundabout's 2018-19 Broadway season includes True West by Sam Shepard, directed by James Macdonald, starring Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano; Kiss Me, Kate, directed by Scott Ellis, starring Kelli O'Hara, Will Chase and Corbin Bleu, and Arthur Miller's All My Sons starring Annette Bening and Tracy Letts, directed by Jack O'Brien.

Off-Broadway in 2018-2019, Roundabout's season includes Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, directed by Noah Brody in a Fiasco Theater production; Toni Stone by Lydia R. Diamond, directed by Pam MacKinnon, with Uzo Aduba; and Something Clean by Selina Fillinger, directed by Margot Bordelon at Roundabout Underground.