Broadway Access Review -
The Notebook

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ID: image of the The Notebook Playbill in front of the stage with the text "Access Review" on top

 

General Note

This is a review of the accessibility of the theater, of the lighting/sound/scent design of the show, and a list of content warnings as a way to prep folks with various needs before they go see it. 

This is not meant to scare anyone away from seeing the show. Most productions have about the same amount of content warnings and sensory warnings to go along with it, they’re just rarely explicitly written down. 

For some people, knowing these things ahead of time makes it easier to enjoy the show because they know what to expect. And, often, makes those people more likely to see it in the first place. I hope that it’s helpful!

I am also happy to clarify any specifics, just send me a message or an email and I will respond when I can.

Also please note that I make these while seeing a show for the first time, so I may miss some cues or be slightly off as to their placement/cue line!

Theater

(Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre)

All comments on the accessibility of lighting are in reference to seats in the middle left orchestra

Bathrooms: 

  • divided into the binary, though there is a sign saying “Please use the restroom that best fits your gender identity and expression”

  • located below the orchestra (women on the left, men on the right) with an accessible one on the orchestra level

Other theater accessibility:

  • the theater has a step-free entrance to the orchestra

  • there is no elevator

  • they offer handheld audio description devices, handheld captioning devices, assistive listening, and neck induction loop systems

Click here for more information on the accessibility of this theater.

Light/Sound/Scent

General:

  • I did not need earplugs for this production

  • there is the sound of a clock ticking pre-show, the audience drowns it out by about ~10 minutes to curtain

  • there’s the occasional quick light change at the end of a song but the contrast isn’t major

  • the water reflects on the walls sometimes throughout 

  • there are hanging vertical bars of light over the stage that sometimes light up in segments, but I never really found them straining

  • the sensory accessibility of this show is, if similar to anything, Merrily We Roll Along, but even calmer

Act I: it gets loud after the police sirens for a short period of time

Act II: very small lightning (singular) after the letter conversation during the rain scene

Content Warnings

  • memory loss (dementia specifically) and medical imagery