Broadway actor accused theatergoer Samantha Coleman of recording play, production apologises later

In a rather embarrassing incident, a "Hadestown" actor accused a viewer of recording the musical play on Broadway, only to apologise for the misunderstanding.

Samantha Coleman, charged with using her phone to record the play, shared a tearful video on Instagram, stating that she had hearing loss and was using her device to get the captions of the lyrics and dialogues.

Samantha Coleman said in the emotional video that Tony winner Lillias White called her twice during the play as she was seated in the first row. However, the young woman further added that they must discuss that misunderstanding.

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Samantha Coleman also said that she felt hurt for being publicly ridiculed and criticized Broadway for having accessibility issues.

After the video went viral, theatre chain Jujamcyn Theatres furnished an apology to Samantha Coleman and promised to improve the accessibility of all forms.



In their official statement, the theatre mentioned that the incident reminded them that things needed to be done consistently. The information also said that everyone in the theatre had to be educated about becoming more supportive of improving accessibility.

The theatre official informed the media that the Hadestown producers directly met Samantha Coleman to convey their apologies. They also thanked the young woman for highlighting the accessibility issue. However, Lillias White has recorded any response to the incident yet.

FAQs

Who is Lillias White?
White is a winner of The Antoinette Perry Award, popularly known as the Tony Award. She accused Coleman of recording the performance of Hadestown.

Why was Coleman using the device?
Coleman was using the device for captioning since she had hearing loss.