Broadway Access Review -
Ragtime

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ID: image of the Ragtime Playbill in front of the stage with the text "Access Review" on top

 

General Note

This is a review of the accessibility of the theater, of the lighting/sound/scent design of the show, and a list of content warnings as a way to prep folks with various needs before they go see it. 

This is not meant to scare anyone away from seeing the show. Most productions have about the same amount of content warnings and sensory warnings to go along with it, they’re just rarely explicitly written down. 

For some people, knowing these things ahead of time makes it easier to enjoy the show because they know what to expect. And, often, makes those people more likely to see it in the first place. I hope that it’s helpful!

I am also happy to clarify any specifics, just send me a message or an email and I will respond when I can.

Also please note that I make these while seeing a show for the first time, so I may miss some cues or be slightly off as to their placement/cue line!

Theater

(Vivian Beaumont Theater)

All comments on the accessibility of lighting are in reference to seats in the far right front orchestra

Bathrooms: 

  • divided into the binary and located with women’s on the right (straight ahead if you’re entering at the to by the fountain) and men’s on the left (underneath the stairs if you’re at that same entrance). Both are accessible via ramp

Other theater accessibility:

  • the orchestra and box office has step-free access via the wheelchair lift at the 65th Street

  • the theater offers CC, assistive listening, loop receivers, and AD devices, as well as Braille and large print programs

Click here for more information on the accessibility of this theater.

Light/Sound/Scent

General:

  • I did not need earplugs for this show

  • The air above the actors as lit can be hazy at times, but I think it’s really only visible from far side seats because of how the lights are hung

  • Some of the lights can reflect off of the stage floor in a bright way at moments, it’s more visible if you’re close

  • The sensory accessibility is similar to that of Suffs, Floyd Collins, Gypsy, and Sweeney Todd

Act I:

  • Smoke on the floor when the curtain comes up, dissipates quickly 

  • Some very slow moving lights on the floor, like water, when Father gets on the ship that last the duration of the song. They aren’t straining or dizzying, it’s more of a “am I hallucinating movement or is it real” feeling

  • 3 or 4 quick light shifts (not flashy) after the car appears

  • 3 or 4 quick on-offs during the moment with the woman on the ground

  • Very slow expanding back wall projection during the train piece for ~30 seconds, not too disorienting

  • A few light pulses when the car is attacked but there are no loud bang noises

  • Yellow wash over the audience at the end of Till We Reach That Day

Act II:

  • Bright yellow light on the center right section of the orchestra when the box Coalhouse is standing on rises, lasting ~30 seconds

  • Smoke on the floor when Sarah & Coalhouse dance

  • Loud boom & quick yellow light on the audience after the final “in the darkness”, followed by ~30 seconds of lightning on the back wall and sounds of thunder

  • 3 or 4 gunshots in very quick succession, along with yellow light pointed at the audience after Coalhouse stops walking, a few steps out the door

Content Advisory

  • racism, including use of the n-slur on multiple occasions

  • sexism 

  • antisemitism/anti-immigrant sentiments

  • death 

  • some violence, specifically police brutality & hate crime

  • theatrical firearms appear at many points, there are only gunshots in one moment which is noted in the cues section