Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#1Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/24/17 at 8:38pm
I'm interested in what Mr. Lasser's specific complaint is here...
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Audience-Member-to-Sue-Broadways-HAMILTON-Citing-Lack-of-Accommodation-for-Blind-Patrons-20170124
#2Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/24/17 at 8:52pm
Google his name and Denver. This is not his first complaint.
Watch the video of him also for the DVR thing. This is a smart man. Seems he would have checked beforehand before going to HAMILTON to see if they had accomodations. I see blind people all the time at the theater that do not complain.
Just give the world Love.
morosco
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/10/04
#3Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/24/17 at 9:15pm
A hot show like HAMILTON should have had accommodations in place long before now. They certainly can afford it. It's the right thing to do.
By the way, all Disney Broadway shows provide it:
Audio Description at Select Performances
For theatregoers with moderate to severe vision loss, a specially trained describer explains what’s happening on stage during pauses in dialogue. The describer uses a headset microphone, while individuals using the service listen through a receiver with a single earpiece.
kade.ivy
Broadway Star Joined: 7/28/13
#4Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/24/17 at 9:38pm
I don't know about this specific case, but I do know that the front-of-house staff was incredibly generous when I visited the show.
This is certainly not the same as a disability accessibility issue, but it does show the generosity of the staff at the Richard Rodgers. I'm...significantly overweight. I know it. Everyone who sees me knows it. When I see a show, I buy an aisle seat and am usually fine. I saw 9 shows my last trip, and the Rodgers was the only theatre in which I had a fit issue. Anyway, the head usher in the rear mezzanine told me as I walked in that I might be uncomfortable and that she could put a freestanding chair to the side behind the boxes if that worked better. I went up to check my seat, and sure enough, it was MISERABLE. I went back down, and she kindly put chairs for my mom and me to the side of the front mezz directly behind the boxes. Super nice, and something she didn't have to do!
I wish I had checked her name to send my compliments to the Nederlanders. Does anyone know her here? She was a very spunky African American lady who looked to be in her 60s. She made a fun announcement to the mezz about cell phone use before the show! Great experience!
Theater3232
Featured Actor Joined: 10/16/10
#5Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/24/17 at 9:44pm
Whatever happened to the civil rights lawsuit/anti-discrimination lawsuit that was filed against this show for posting a casting notice that deliberately excluded a certain race of individuals? It's really a shame in 2017 if a show doesn't cater to the disabled and says that a certain race is to be excluded from a casting opportunity.
Updated On: 1/24/17 at 09:44 PM
trpguyy
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/05
#7Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/24/17 at 9:57pm
where is there even space in the show to give descriptions of what is occurring... the people on stage don't stop singing.
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
aaaaaa15
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/31/15
#8Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/24/17 at 10:25pm
Theater3232 said: "Whatever happened to the civil rights lawsuit/anti-discrimination lawsuit that was filed against this show for posting a casting notice that deliberately excluded a certain race of individuals? It's really a shame in 2017 if a show doesn't cater to the disabled and says that a certain race is to be excluded from a casting opportunity."
They changed the wording and everyone moved on with their lives. White people still don't and wont get cast in the main parts of Hamilton but at least now they can't whine about it so much.
whatdoesntkillme
Featured Actor Joined: 8/15/16
#9Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/24/17 at 11:51pm
kade.ivy said: "
I wish I had checked her name to send my compliments to the Nederlanders. Does anyone know her here? She was a very spunky African American lady who looked to be in her 60s. She made a fun announcement to the mezz about cell phone use before the show! Great experience!
"
I know exactly who you're talking about! She's the best. Unfortunately I don't know her name, but she's a regular at the Rodgers--she made the fun announcement back when I saw If/Then as well as Hamilton, so I'm sure she's well known to the Rodgers house management team.
#10Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 12:43am
kade.ivy said:
I wish I had checked her name to send my compliments to the Nederlanders. Does anyone know her here? She was a very spunky African American lady who looked to be in her 60s. She made a fun announcement to the mezz about cell phone use before the show! Great experience!
She's the one up there who makes those cell phone announcements and bathroom location warning. You can hear her announcement to down in the orchestra. I'm sure if you describe her announcement in a letter, they will know exactly who she is.
#11Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 12:50am
If ever there was a show with a plot conveyed virtually entirely through audio...
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#13Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 5:58am
Scarywarhol said: "If ever there was a show with a plot conveyed virtually entirely through audio...
"
This could possibly be the smartest comment here.
I'm torn by this....it sounds like for other shows that DO provide alternatives, it's not for every performance anyway. That too seems like a problem....similar to the "separate but equal" issues.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#14Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 7:43am
aaaaaa15 said:
They changed the wording and everyone moved on with their lives. White people still don't and wont get cast in the main parts of Hamilton but at least now they can't whine about it so much.
"
I don't disagree with the spirit of what you are saying. But change the word white to black in your comment and see how it reads. Racist is racist
#15Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 8:28am
theatregeek6 said: "I don't disagree with the spirit of what you are saying. But change the word white to black in your comment and see how it reads. Racist is racist"
It's funny how, for many decades, the majority of Broadway shows hired only white actors, but people start complaining when one show hires mostly non-white actors (and for very good artistic reasons). That's what racism is, I think.
Theater3232
Featured Actor Joined: 10/16/10
#16Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 8:47am
This is the year 2017. There is no excuse for racism.
rjm516
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/24/09
#17Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 8:47am
"Racist is racist"
You guys need to learn about issues before you say ignorant things. You cannot be racist against white people. That is not a thing. Just like you cannot have sexism against males. That is not a thing. You can be prejudiced against white people, or men, sure, you can hate them, of course. But the institution of racism (and sexism) are words with meanings, about negative behavior towards those minorities without the power in that dynamic. You can't flip them around to make your cheap points in an attempt to show how clever and beyond PC you are or something. Stop doing that.
#18Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 8:59am
"You cannot be racist against white people."
Amend that statement to add "in a nation/state where white people are the ruling majority," perhaps. And even then, is it really a universal truth? If you can and do withhold rights or opportunities from someone solely because of their race, what is that? (This is a question, not an answer, by the way.)
We all tend to forget that the little place where we live is not the entire world.
#19Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 9:09am
rjm516 said: ""Racist is racist"
You guys need to learn about issues before you say ignorant things. You cannot be racist against white people. That is not a thing. Just like you cannot have sexism against males. That is not a thing. You can be prejudiced against white people, or men, sure, you can hate them, of course. But the institution of racism (and sexism) are words with meanings, about negative behavior towards those minorities without the power in that dynamic. You can't flip them around to make your cheap points in an attempt to show how clever and beyond PC you are or something. Stop doing that.
"SO-POINT 1-I agree (in fact I thought I had deleted the 'racist is racist comment for the reason you state - apologies that I didn't.
However, making a statement that one group of people "can't whine about it so much." is a blanket statement about a group of people - and it actually undermines what we would all want from this which is that no posting at any time can exclude people of a certain race. I fully understand that diverse casting needs to expand, and that the roles in Hamilton are meant to be portrayed in a certain manner. However, letting the casting notice stand may have set the precedent which allowed other productions to exclude people of a specific race.
So-I stand by my comment what picking out 'white people' and pointing to behavior the posted attributes to them is wrong.
aaaaaa15
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/31/15
#20Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 11:14am
Do be quiet. I'm white myself so how exactly can I be racist against whites? I just wish my fellow white people would stop feeling sorry for themselves all time when they live such privileged lives that the only thing that concerns them regarding their race is that they can't get cast in Hamilton.
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
#21Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 11:16am
aaaaaa15 said: "I'm white myself so how exactly can I be racist against whites?"
Sigh. Wrong.
Racism ≠ oppression/marginalization. They're related by structure, but not the same in definition.
aaaaaa15
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/31/15
#22Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 11:31am
I'm not debating about whether I'm racist against my own (privileged) race. Some of you wouldn't know real oppression if it kicked you in the face, my goodness.
#23Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 11:41am
We all know that white privilege is real; however, it doesn't mean that all white people are guaranteed a comfortable middle class life with no problems.
White people can and do suffer from oppression - misogyny, antisemitism, homophobia, ageism, fat shaming, ugly shaming, etc.
Let's not get too reductive about these things, it' an enormous and complex topic, and should be treated as such.
aaaaaa15
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/31/15
#24Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 11:42am
No one is stating otherwise newintown.
aaaaaa15
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/31/15
#25Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 11:42am
No one is stating otherwise newintown.
#26Audience Member to Sue HAMILTON Citing Lack of Accommodation for Blind Patrons
Posted: 1/25/17 at 11:43am
Just saying, aaaaaa, you seem to skirt close to that statement, when you accuse others of not knowing "real oppression if it kicked you in the face."
