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Disabled Visibility in the Arts Is Increasing in Some Ways, but Meaningful Accessibility Remains Uneven
By Kelsey Maurine Brickl Disability representation in entertainment is sometimes measured by who appears onstage or onscreen. Recent productions are also demonstrating how much depends upon who is hired behind the scenes, whether Disabled performers can physically use their workplaces, and whether disability is allowed to exist in stories that are not primarily about disability.…
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The Gramercy Theatre Shows What Accessible New York Entertainment Can Look Like
By Kelsey Maurine Brickl I had an appointment with a neuromuscular specialist today. By the time it was over, I was fatigued, sore and genuinely uncertain whether I would feel well enough to attend my ticketed event at the Gramercy Theatre. That uncertainty is a routine part of living with complex, fluctuating disabilities and chronic…
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Bill Irwin’s The Imaginary Invalid: The Complete Record of What Happened During the September 27 Disability-Access Incident at the Todd Haimes Theatre
By Kelsey Maurine Brickl On September 27, 2026, I attended Bill Irwin’s The Imaginary Invalid at Roundabout Theatre Company’s Todd Haimes Theatre as a ticketed, non-ambulatory wheelchair user and Disabled journalist. Roundabout stopped the performance after staff attempted to remove me while I was raising a disability-access concern and invoking the New York City Human…
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It’s Time For A New American Legal Policy Regarding Service Animals
By: Kelsey Maurine Brickl September is Service Dog Month, which makes it a particularly appropriate time to examine and interrogate an American legal policy that has acquired a peculiar immunity from serious criticism. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is a dog individually trained to perform work or tasks related to a…
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Update: The Imaginary Invalid at Roundabout
By: Kelsey Maurine Brickl I am scheduled to attend The Imaginary Invalid at the Todd Haimes Theatre on September 27 as a wheelchair user with complex medical needs including an indwelling pacemaker, use of respiratory equipment, severe dog allergy, and more, and in my professional capacity covering theatre and disability access. I am reporting on…
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How Cheap Ticket Rushes On Broadway Exclude Disabled Patrons, and How Theatres Need To Fix the Situation To Be Compliant with the Law
By: Kelsey Maurine Brickl For years, Hamilton has offered $10 tickets through its Ham4Ham lottery. Winners may purchase up to two, according to the official app listing. A wheelchair user considering that offer needs one more piece of information: how to obtain a usable wheelchair location at $10, with an adjacent companion seat. The public-facing…
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If Theatres Can Police Phones, They Can Police Standing That Blocks Wheelchair Sightlines
by Kelsey Maurine Brickl On Broadway and in the West End, ushers walk through auditoriums carrying illuminated signs telling patrons to put their phones away before shows begin. Playbills and programmes carry printed rules. Some productions add inserts. Houses make severe prerecorded announcements before the performance begins. Staff intervene when patrons continue filming or texting.…