Walnut Street Hosts Special Performance of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF 7/10

Walnut Street Theatre will host a special performance of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF for people with disabilities. A unique, fully accessible performance of Walnut Street Theatre's production of the award-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof is scheduled for Saturday, July 10, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. Audiences with visual or hearing impairments or other types of disabilities will enjoy a first-hand experience of one of Broadway's greatest musicals. Art-Reach and VSA Pennsylvania have enhanced the production with ASL interpretation, open captioning, sensory workshop, audio description, braille and large-print programs. Walnut Street Theatre is located at 825 Walnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The sensory workshop will begin at 12:45 p.m. and the performance at 2:00 p.m. A dessert reception will follow at 5:00 p.m.

This event will showcase the services and technology that make the arts more accessible and that demonstrate the value of and need for engaging audiences with disabilities. It is coordinated by Art-Reach and VSA Pennsylvania as part of their joint initiative Independence Starts Here. Pennsylvania Senator Hon. Lawrence M. Farnese, Jr. and Pennsylvania Representative Hon. Michael H. O'Brien are the honorary co-hosts of this event, which is sponsored by Verizon.

This performance will feature audio description and Braille and large-print programs for those who are blind or low-vision, as well as American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and open captioning for audiences who are deaf or hard of hearing. In addition, the theatre is accessible to people in wheelchairs and provides assisted-listening devices for audiences who are hard of hearing.

To enhance the experience for audiences with visual impairments, starting at 12:45 p.m. a sensory workshop involving actors Bill Van Horn and Jennie Eisenhower will take place before the performance, allowing people who are blind or low-vision to touch costumes and props.

Audio description and open captioning will be provided by VSA Pennsylvania. Audio description allows people with visual disabilities to listen through individual headsets to live narration of the on-stage action.Open captioning allows audiences who are deaf or hard of hearing to see the script of the performance on a scrolling LED screen. ASL interpretation will be provided by Hands Up Productions.

Art-Reach (www.art-reach.org) enriches lives by connecting underserved audiences to cultural experiences so that they may enjoy and benefit from the transformative powers of the arts. Through its programs, each year over 15,000 people of all ages, economic backgrounds and abilities are able to experience the richness of the arts.

Independence Starts Here is a collaborative initiative led by Art-Reach and VSA Pennsylvania whose mission is to increase awareness of and audiences for accessible cultural programming and to help arts organizations become more accessible. This event is the latest in a series presented in partnership with local arts organizations that showcase accessible services and technology and that demonstrate the value of and need for engaging audiences with disabilities. For more information on Independence Starts Here, go to www.IndependenceStartsHere.org.

Tickets for Art-Reach member agencies are $5.00 and must be reserved by Tuesday, July 6, 2010. For more information, call Art-Reach at (215) 568-2115, ext. 5.

For more information on Walnut Street Theatre and its programming, visit www.WalnutStreetTheatre.org or call Tom Miller at 215-574-3555

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