This past Saturday I went to go see "Hamilton" with my sisters and my mom. We had a really great time and we all agreed that there was nothing that we didn't like about the show. The set was innovative, the choreography was beautiful, and the cast members did the show and the music great justice. We left awestruck and me exclaiming "And this is why the show has Tony awards!"
The tune quickly changed when a woman walking down the stairs fell over, head first, tumbling down the steps.
My sister and I were stunned as she fell and let out a groan of pain, both of us reaching down to help her, knowingly blocking the way to get out of the stairwell from the hundreds of others that were likely pouring down the staircase at this exact moment. You could tell that she was overcome with a mixture of pain, embarrassment, and overwhelming emotion that was apparent from the words that would come out of her mouth. I grabbed the cane that she was using and did not think much of the cane, stabling the cane to then stable the woman and help her to become stable once more.
Once we helped her to her feet after a couple tries, she thanked us for our help and said "I just wish there was an elevator," walking away with a look of pain in her eyes.
"I just wish there was an elevator."
I am an able-bodied woman and have never really had a problem with mobility, and I am fully aware that this makes me privileged to have never had to worry about stairs or to have never felt discriminated or less included due to accessibility. However, when this woman said this sentence, my heart broke and I felt as though my world shattered a little bit. It makes me think about how if you did have a disability that was physical but you did not need a wheelchair, would the accessible seating still be available to you? What if the accessible seating was full? How easy is it to get accessible seating at this particular theatre?
When I went to Google and looked at the Seattle Theatre Groupwebsite for accessibility, it stated this,
"The Paramount, Moore, and Neptune Theatres are wheelchair accessible on the orchestra level. There is no elevator in any of our theatres, but The Neptune does have ramps to the front of the balcony. Each of our accessible seat locations is slightly elevated and houses an easily removable, armless freestanding chair. These chairs are for patrons with mobility impairments and their companions. If you require the space for a wheelchair, an usher will remove the freestanding chair when you arrive.
Accessible seating can be purchased in person, by phone, or online via individual show ticket links."
This statement does make me think about how accessible seating is in not one, not two, but three of the main theatres that are used in Seattle. How many people is this actually available to? Did this woman know about the seating that was available to her? Did she know that the 90 steps she climbed to her seat for this matinee could have been prevented, possibly preventing her from falling down the stairs?
This is a touchy subject, and I do not mean disrespect or insult, but as someone who wants to learn more about disability rights and how to approach these subjects, in plain English, why is there not an elevator in this building? Should the few accommodating seats in the balcony be good enough? Should there be an elevator available for people who do have problems with stairs? The woman I encountered could have requested the seating accommodation but have been turned down because of the sold-out show making the seats full in occupancy. We will never know. But I can't get the look in her eye and the sadness in her voice out of my head.
"I just wish there was an elevator."
I believe that this is something worth considering adding into the Paramount Theatre to make the building as accessible as humanly possible.
