The mother of a non-verbal 15-year-old boy with severe developmental disabilities is speaking out after what she says was a “traumatic” experience at a musical comedy matinee.
Erica Blit took her son, Brandon, and her daughter, Skylar, 10, to a performance of the musical comedy “The Prom.”
The family was seated close to the stage because Brandon “likes to be right up front in the action,” Blit wrote in a Facebook post. She noted that she chose a show that was “upbeat, lively and appropriate” for her kids.
During the performance, Blit said that Brandon began making “some happy noises.” She added that he was “NOT being disruptive, but cheering a little differently than others.”
“A pit began in my stomach as a I saw the elderly woman across the aisle staring at us, and I thought to myself was it a mistake to bring him, should I take him outside,” Blit wrote.
During intermission, Blit said she was approached by a general manager of the White Plains Performing Arts Center in New York who explained that patrons “were complaining” about Brandon and that they would need to move to the back of the auditorium. At this point, she said, Brandon’s sister began to cry.
Blit told TODAY Parents that Brandon, who has a genetic disorder called MED13L syndrome, wears a bib.
“If you saw him, you would know right away he’s not a typical kid,” she said.
Blit said she didn’t want to cause a scene, so she agreed to move to the back, but suggested to the general manager that they begin offering sensory-friendly performances. TDF, a non-profit organization for the performing arts, hosts autism-friendly Broadway performances of shows including "The Lion King" and "Wicked."
Blit said the general manager was unapologetic and said the theater would “look into it.” Blit was not refunded for their tickets.
The following day, Blit spoke on the phone with John Ioris, president of the White Plains Performing Arts Center. She recounted their conversation in her Facebook post.
“I truly believed that once he heard the story of what happened he would try to do the right thing in the future,” Blit wrote. “I could not have been more wrong.”
“He asked me what I wanted to get out of this call and I told him I had hoped for a sincere apology and for them to do better in the future and/or do autism or sensory friendly performances,” Blit shared. “He said that wasn’t going to happen, that it wasn’t his audience.”
According to Blit, Ioris told her that disabled theatergoers “usually go with a moderator.” When Blit asked ‘What is a moderator?’ she said he replied, ‘it is a caregiver who is expected to control the child.”
Blit told TODAY that the family will be taking legal action.
“What I hoped would happen was that he would say, we’re gonna refund the price of the tickets. We want to do better in the future. We want to do sensory-friendly performances,” Blit said. “Theater should be accessible to everyone.”
In her Facebook post she wrote, "Isn’t it ironic that a theater putting on a performance encouraging someone to come out of the closet, was trying to push us into one."
Ioris told TODAY Parents in an interview that he has two special needs children in his family so he is not “unfamiliar nor unsympathetic to the situation.”
“We had numerous complaints (about Brandon's noises) — more than a dozen people asking for their money back,” he said. “To boot, there was a reviewer in the theater that day.”
Ioris said the theater critic wrote that “the whimpering of a child” was “plaguing” the performance.
Ioris said he stands by his staff and how they handled the situation. He said he is pleased that they waited until intermission to speak with Blit privately. As for the suggestion of sensory-friendly performances, Ioris said, "It's not something that I'm in any way against, I just have to find some expertise."
“It was a difficult situation when you have people screaming at the box office because they’re not enjoying their day,” he said. “I still don’t know why Mrs. Blit did not take the boy out of the theater, calm him down and bring him back in again.”
“Have we had special needs children and adults create disturbances? Yes, we have,” he continued. “But in every instance, the moderator — for lack of a better word — takes them outside and then brings them back.”
Blit said that Brandon was simply enjoying the singing and dancing and not creating a disturbance.
“Brandon loves musicals,” she told TODAY. “Those were his happy noises. If he was upset I would have taken him out in the heartbeat.”
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