Hadestown apologizes for the subtitle incident
Broadway’s Hadestown issued an apology after the actor reprimanded an audience member who mistakenly thought their captioning device was being used for filming.
In an emotional video posted on social media, audience member Samantha Coleman said she was called out “not once, but twice, for taping a performance” by Lillias White, who plays Hermes in the production. “She thought my captioning device was a recording device,” Samantha explained.
“I don’t know that it’s inherently malice on her part, I think it’s a misunderstanding,” she continued. “My hearing is such that I need a captioning device to see the show. And being ostracized and publicly ridiculed really hurts. It was super embarrassing.”
Her account of watching the show went viral on Twitter:
Today, an actor yelled at me multiple times in the middle of a show for doing a Broadway show, even when I wasn’t. I used a captioning device. My worst nightmare has come true.
Where it sparked a debate about whether audience screening for recording devices should be left to ushers rather than actors – especially given the Broadway legend Patti Lupone’s penchant for yelling at audience members:
@SamanthColeman As a former Broadway clerk, I am horrified by this. It is not the job of actors, any more than a clerk would just go on stage and start dancing. As Front of House staff, we are trained to discreetly deal with potential disruptions and spot the accessibility of accommodation.
@lalalivy28 @SamanthColeman There is no training that will enable actors on stage to see and discern this. The only training you can give is to make it clear to the actors that it is not their responsibility to control the crowd for the recording devices.
@SamanthColeman Unpopular opinion: I love Patti, but leave the police outside the house. All you’re doing when you interrupt the show to be sanctimonious is disrupting the entire audience, not those who are bothered by a device that an usher could take care of or worse in a situation like this
Hadestown he later apologized:
@SamanthColeman Thanks for connecting with us, Samantha. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and are working with @Jujamcyn to review our policies and internal protocols to ensure this does not happen again. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.
@SamanthColeman @Jujamcyn Appreciate everyone’s feedback. In the interest of full disclosure, we have reached out to Samantha privately to offer our sincere apologies and rectify the situation, as we felt that was a better forum to resolve matters meaningfully.
“Providing access is also about educating everyone in theater about how we can provide more support,” the spokesperson said Hadestown added ua statement. “We are reviewing our policies and internal protocols to ensure this does not happen again.”
Samantha later issued a call to “stop harassing” Lillias about the incident:
Good day! It is important for me to articulate – I am asking that kindness and forgiveness be extended to Mrs. White. Her social media pages, especially Instagram, were flooded with ageist & racist comments. Please stop bothering her. (1/2)
The theater which Hadestown is on offer I-Caption devices, which are basically small, handheld screens that display text, dialogue, and sound effects. Some shows also have subtitles through the application — unfortunately, this is to take risks even more people who misuse the phone for illegal recording.
We hope this doesn’t happen again!
#Hadestown #apologizes #subtitle #incident
