CBS2 Exclusive: 'King And I' Actor Speaks Out After Audience Disruption, But It's Not What You Think
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Broadway shows are prone to interruptions from everything from cellphones to coughing fits, but the challenges of special needs children have been highlighted in particular in recent days.
As CBS2's Steve Langford reported, an outburst by an autistic child led to angry demands by spectators in the middle of a performance of "The King and I."
"Audience members vocally just said, 'Take that kid out,'" said CBS2 producer Ellen Minkin, who was in the audience the day of the performance at Lincoln Center.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, cast member Kelvin Moon Loh spoke out Sunday after the incident.
A young boy with apparent special needs disrupted the performance, prompting the actor to fire off a Facebook message that starts with this line: "I am angry and sad."
His concern was not the child, who he assumed to be autistic, who yelped during a particularly dramatic moment in the show, Carlin reported.
Instead, he was also upset that audience members grumbled for the woman to remove the child from the theater.
"When did we as theater people, performers and audience members become so concerned with our own experience that we lose compassion for others?" he said.
Loh noted that the outburst came during an intense "whipping scene."
The child and the woman with him eventually left the show, but Loh said they should have stayed.
Loh said "The King And I" is a classic, family-friendly musical that should be shared with anyone who wants to see it, and added some others in the audience need to have more compassion and patience.
"For me to quickly admonish someone without really knowing all the facts of what's happening and turning an eye, which is less than loving, first is what got me to write," Loh told CBS2.
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
But a Broadway blessing has also been set up for children on the autism spectrum.
"We were hearing from special ed teachers, 'What can you do with all our students in the autism spectrum?'" said Lisa Carling of the Theatre Development Fund.
An autism-friendly performance of "The Lion King" on Broadway is now the latest in a series, now five years running. The need is just beginning to be met.
"I want there to be more autism friendly performances," said theatergoer Una Galber.
Organizers said the special performance of "The Lion King" on Sunday sold out in two weeks.
The identities of the mother and son who abruptly had to leave "The Lion King" last Wednesday remained unknown late Sunday.