Since taking a prominent role in our everyday lives, the cellphone has been considered a nuisance in Broadway theaters. It was just three years ago when Patti LuPone snatched a phone from the thumbs of an audience member during a performance of “Shows for Days.” However, 2018 could be the year when the stigma behind using a cellphone in the theater changes.
Beginning in June, all Broadway theaters will be outfitted to accommodate GalaPro, an app created specifically for deaf and hearing-impaired patrons. After a trial phase in the 17 NYC theaters owned by the Shubert Organization, the Broadway League has announced that all Broadway houses will allow the use of GalaPro beginning this summer, as the software provides to-the-moment closed captioning and translation services to audience members.
Many actors, directors, house managers, and experienced audience members might balk at the thought of cellphones being used once the lights go down and the curtain goes up. However, there are some key features of the app that allows for discreet use. First, users must put their cellphone in airplane mode to operate the app, deactivating the ability to surf the web or have their experience interrupted by texts, calls, or other notifications. Second, users must connect to a specific server within the range of the theater to access the show’s captioning information. Third, the captioning appears on the screen with no backlight or blue light—muffling a phone’s obnoxious glow.
Producers and house managers hope that GalaPro will allow for more audience members to feel welcome in the theater—particularly those with hearing impairments or those who might not be fluent in the language spoken onstage. Producers are betting that such inclusive measures will pay off with more ticket sales—and, perhaps, longer runs of Broadway shows (and performer contracts).
The app is already earning praise. This year, the Shubert Organization won the National Access Award from the Hearing Loss Association of America for its integration of the software. In a press release, the association’s executive director, Barbara Kelley, praised the Shubert’s innovation in hand-held captioning for live Broadway shows, proclaiming, “This is a true game changer.”
The software was highlighted at the 2017 Broadway Accessibility Summit organized by the Broadway League and the Theatre Development Fund. At the summit, several other technologies designed to expand the theatergoing experience to audiences with hearing and vision loss were unveiled.
Jerry Bergman, founder of the Hearing Accommodation Task Force of New York, attended the summit. “The message that the theater community and the accessibility community are united in wanting to maximize the enjoyment of live stage entertainment for everyone came across in resounding fashion,” he said of the conference.
GalaPro was developed by Israeli startup GalaPrompter. Though there have been some glitches in the trial phases of the app, as reported by American Theatre, the app has caught the eye of other major theater markets—including London’s West End.
The app will not replace other support apparatus that audience members may have grown accustomed to using. Closed captioning, assistive listening, and audio description devices will still be accessible to Broadway audiences free of charge.
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