Child Cries Out During Broadway Show. That's When The Actor Posts THIS...
Broadway actor Kelvin Moon Loh came to the defense of a
mother and her young son sitting in the audience of “The King and I” after the
child disrupted a matinee performance in September 2015. The woman’s son began
crying and screaming during a particularly emotional scene. The mom tried to
calm her son, but soon the audience grew angry and heckled her, some called for
her and the boy to be removed from the theater and others were heard asking
“why would you bring a child like that to the theater?”. Embarrassed, the mom
and boy left the theater after a few minutes.
It turns out, the boy happens to have autism. The crowd’s
reaction did not sit well with the musical’s lead, and Loh took to Facebook to
express his feelings about the incident and to champion the rights of autistic
children and parents of children with autism to be allowed to visit to the
theater like anyone else. His passionate post has no doubt won him new fans.
Loh wrote:
“I am angry and sad.
“Just got off stage from today’s matinee and yes, something
happened. Someone brought their autistic child to the theater.
“That being said – this post won’t go the way you think it
will.
“You think I will admonish that mother for bringing a child
who yelped during a quiet moment in the show. You think I will herald an
audience that yelled at this mother for bringing their child to the theater.
You think that I will have sympathy for my own company whose performances were
disturbed from a foreign sound coming from in front of them.
“No.
“Instead, I ask you- when did we as theater people,
performers and audience members become so concerned with our own experience
that we lose compassion for others?
“The theater to me has always been a way to examine/dissect
the human experience and present it back to ourselves. Today, something very
real was happening in the seats and, yes, it interrupted the fantasy that was
supposed to be this matinee but ultimately theater is created to bring people
together, not just for entertainment, but to enhance our lives when we walk out
the door again.
“It so happened that during “the whipping scene”, a rather
intense moment in the second act, a child was heard yelping in the audience. It
sounded like terror. Not more than one week earlier, during the same scene, a
young girl in the front row- seemingly not autistic screamed and cried loudly
and no one said anything then. How is this any different?
“His voice pierced the theater. The audience started to
rally against the mother and her child to be removed. I heard murmurs of “why
would you bring a child like that to the theater?”. This is wrong. Plainly
wrong.
“Because what you didn’t see was a mother desperately trying
to do just that. But her son was not compliant. What they didn’t see was a
mother desperately pleading with her child as he gripped the railing refusing-
yelping more out of defiance. I could not look away. I wanted to scream and
stop the show and say- “EVERYONE RELAX. SHE IS TRYING. CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT SHE
IS TRYING???!!!!” I will gladly do the entire performance over again. Refund
any ticket because-
“For her to bring her child to the theater is brave. You
don’t know what her life is like. Perhaps, they have great days where he can
sit still and not make much noise because this is a rare occurrence. Perhaps
she chooses to no longer live in fear, and refuses to compromise the experience
of her child. Maybe she scouted the aisle seat for a very popular show in case
such an episode would occur. She paid the same price to see the show as you did
for her family. Her plan, as was yours, was to have an enjoyable afternoon at
the theater and slowly her worst fears came true.
“I leave you with this- Shows that have special performances
for autistic audiences should be commended for their efforts to make theater
inclusive for all audiences. I believe like Joseph Papp that theater is created
for all people. I stand by that and also for once, I am in a show that is
completely FAMILY FRIENDLY. The King and I on Broadway is just that- FAMILY
FRIENDLY- and that means entire families- with disabilities or not. Not only
for special performances but for all performances. A night at the theater is
special on any night you get to go.
“And no, I don’t care how much you spent on the tickets.”
I am angry and sad. Just got off stage from today's matinee and yes, something happened. Someone brought their...
Posted by Kelvin Moon Loh on Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Since the initial post, Loh’s message has received 31,000
shares. Hopefully Loh’s message will resonate with people and make people think
twice about judging others at public events and to maybe think about responding
with compassion rather than anger.
Share Loh’s message with your family and friends!
[Source]
