Drama at The King and I — Page 2

It's not easy to deal with autistic children when they're in this condition. Maybe he was panicked or something and "strong" actions like taking his arm to carry him outside would have just complicated the situation... it's not easy to talk about autism in general terms because every autist is basically different from the others.

FBay said: "why didn't the mother just take her son outside ?"

I believe the Facebook post indicated that she was trying to do that, but the child was grabbing a railing.

For those who were at the performance, did ushers try to assist the mother. You would think if they felt they could remove the child without much disruption, there was no reason to stop the show. However, if the disruption was significant, it would have made sense to stop the show.

I have had very extensive training and have spent my entire teaching life working with kids with autism. Since everyone impacted by it has their own level of severity it's impossible to have an across the board situation or response to this situation.

I was at an autism performance of Wicked. And, it was great to observe how they enjoyed the show and to be entering their world for a bit. I have to say, despite the noise and vocal ticks that kids on the spectrum produce, the actors never missed a beat. Hell, even Mandy Patinkin once spoke in an interview about how there was a guy wheezing during a performance of Evita. Turned out he was on oxygen and Mandy afterwards was glad he didn't speak up because he would have felt terrible. He was happy that this man wasn't letting his health get in the way of going out and enjoying a show.

There's a lot of chat about making theater more accessible. There are things like autism friendly performances and even the current Deaf West revival of Spring Awakening etc. If people wanted to make theatre more accessible they would give a pass to something like this. On one hand, I get where people are coming from feeling like they paid for a ticket and that they shouldn't be around this sort of thing. But, I feel that things would be better if the overall mindset changed into that to something more understanding and empathetic rather than selfishness.

Unwound, from what I have read it was certainly the beating scene. I believe Kelvin meant he passed Ruthie in the wings as she was preparing to enter for her next scene.

I think the mother deserved to be called out for it. I just hope no one criticized the boy.

"Kelvin mentioned in his article with BWW that it occurred during one of Ruthie Ann Miles scenes and she isn't featured in the beating scene at all. I was wondering if it were the scene immediately following the beating scene? Where Lady Thiang and the prince discuss the king's health? That is a very poignant and moving scene if thats the case..."

Yes, UnwoundfFantasies, that is the scene during which the audience finally reacted.

"There's a lot of chat about making theater more accessible. There are things like autism friendly performances and even the current Deaf West revival of Spring Awakening etc."

I hope that this incident highlights the need for more autism friendly performances. I do wonder how Kelvin knew the child was autistic, given that on his FB page, he later clarified he didn't even know for sure whether the child was a boy or a girl. The kind of sounds and talking sounded like those any bored young child might make.

Updated On: 9/26/15 at 11:00 PM

I have mixed feelings about this. I used to work with adults with autism and developmental disabilities and a key part of our missing was integrating our clients into the community. I witnessed first hand people staring and making snarky comments even when my clients were doing nothing disruptive or disturbing. But a part of my job was finding integration opportunities that were not only age appropriate, but would not disrupt the rest of the community. Part of integration was making sure our clients were being put in situations where they were capable of behaving appropriately so we weren't setting them up for a situation where they would be uncomfortable or wouldn't feel like active community members. So there were some clients that I would take to the movies, and some I wouldn't because I knew they'd be disruptive--we'd do things like go bowling or play bocci ball. On the other hand, I had one client who was always perfectly calm and quiet during movies and we went every Friday. Then one day he just freaked out and started screaming and biting himself. I was completely helpless. I couldn't get him out of there and I couldn't quiet him down. Fortunately it was very near the end of the movie and it was pretty empty but it was terrible for everyone involved--him, the other patrons, my other clients, and me.

So I don't think if there is someone who would be consistently disruptive to other patrons, it's appropriate to bring them to the theater. On the other hand, if someone would be able to sit quietly 99% of the time, I don't think they should be forced to stay home because of the chance they may have an issue one day. And certainly if the person was not quiet during the first act it would be most appropriate to leave at intermission. But under no circumstances do I approve of people making mean or hateful comments. I understand it sucks for you and I'm sympathetic because I HATE when people make noise during a show, but that's not going to help anything.

Just_John said: "Dramamama, out of curiosity, were they broadway shows? Two or three incidents occurred at Schubert houses and one time was in the orchestra at an Encores performance. Also, at the first preview of Gypsy, which I was also at, an air vent fell on someones head and they were screeching in pain. Patti and Laura didn't stop looking up at the balcony with complete worry on their faces, but the show went on. While I agree that in actual emergencies, it would be best to stop the show and ask people to move out of the way to make sure everyone can get the help they need, but this wasn't an emergency but an inconvenient grievance which was out of anyones control.

Not Dramamama but not that long ago, someone had a medical emergency at Kinky Boots..and they stopped the show for about a half hour until the person could be dealt with properly. At that point, Billy Porter came on and gave a quick funny recap of the show to get the audience back in a lighter mood again and then the show continued.

I agree there should be more performances geared for children (and adults) with special needs and considerations. That said, people in general could be more understanding. It could be you and someone in your family and I don't think you would want someone to tell you never go anywhere and stay locked up away from the world because someone might cause a disruption.

There are a gazillion RUDE, IMPOLITE and DISTRACTING people that are in audiences every day (I met a few today) - we have all commented on some of them..but they should be allowed to come, while someone who has a real problem and may be distracting should not come. I am not sure that is fair.

Like the poster above said, obviously if you have a continual screamer, you are not going to go to the theater. But things set off all kids - not just ones with special needs. It is what it is.

"

The solution going forward to allow inclusion should be shows labeled as "autism friendly" or more generally "family friendly", where productions make an effort to use less special effects, lower the volume a tad, and reduce harsh lighting (no strobe lights, no sudden bright lights, no periods of total darkness).

As it stands, though, I sympathize more with the audience than the mother and child. The audience shouldn't react harshly, and it's hard to judge how they reacted without being there, but the amount of money collectively spent to attend that show was in the realm of $125,000. It's not reasonable to ruin the experiences of other theatergoers paying that much by taking a child who has documented issues with expected elements of the show. If they do go, they should sit in the back of a section and immediately exit to the lobby if there's an issue. This doesn't just go for children with autism; any parents with children unable to behave through a show should respect the hundreds of other theatergoers and leave their kids at home.

"This doesn't just go for children with autism; any parents with children unable to behave through a show should respect the hundreds of other theatergoers and leave their kids at home."

I'm really conflicted by what stance to take on this issue, but I think rob136 hit the nail on the head with that line. Many on this board, as do I, believe that any child should not be brought to a Broadway theatre if he or she cannot sit still and behave appropriately for the duration of an entire performance. Why should that standard be any different when it comes to autistic children?

I am all about making theatre more accessible, and I agree that more autism-friendly performances would be a fantastic solution. Also, let's not forget, theatre DOES exist beyond Midtown Manhattan. Kelvin's Facebook post reads to me as if this discussion concerns whether or not this child should attend a live performance of any kind. However, that's not what this is about. We're discussing a venue where patrons spend hundreds of dollars to be transported, and at that price, disruption should not be tolerated. There are plenty of more family friendly venues out there where the stakes aren't as high.

Updated On: 9/27/15 at 06:32 PM

"... productions make an effort to use less special effects, lower the volume a tad, and reduce harsh lighting (no strobe lights, no sudden bright lights, no periods of total darkness)."

It's not possible to change the lighting or sound design mid-performance or even from performance to performance any more than changing the scenic or costume design. It's the house management who attend to disruptions, not the production team.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/26/theater/new-york-actor-defends-child-who-disrupted-a-performance.html?smid=tw-nyttheater&smtyp=cur&_r=0

The original tweet and some conversation:

https://twitter.com/nytimestheater/status/648560559009435652