June 15, 2007 *
THE STRIP SENSE
Don't Worry, Deafie, It's Plenty Loud
By STEVE FRIESS
The same night last month when news broke that the MGM Mirage
had settled with the Department of Justice in a lawsuit regarding
the lack of certain accommodations for people with disabilities
at the Mandalay Bay, I had a very typical, very relevant experience.
At Steve Wyrick's new magic show at the Miracle Mile Mall,
I asked an usher if the theater, a new $35 million showroom,
offered hearing-assistive devices. I suffer significant hearing
loss and have worn hearing aids since I was 7; live theater
is the most challenging circumstance for people like me.
The usher was puzzled, told me no but then tried to reassure
me with this idiotic - yet routine! - refrain: "No, but it's
REALLY loud in there."
It would be one thing if this were an isolated instance. It
is not. I have been to almost every theater in this city and
without fail I am informed first that no such devices are available
and second that I won't need one anyhow.
It's not always true. I asked Wyrick himself about this on
my podcast a week later and he insisted the usher must have
been new or ill-informed. And after I started writing about
this on my other blog, Hunter Hillegas of RateVegas.Com undertook
a remarkable effort of calling each theater to ask about the
availability of listening assistance for the hard of hearing.
The following shows, according to Hillegas' research, don't:
"Celine Dion…A New Day," "Tournament of Kings," "Legends in
Concert," "Amazing Johnathan," "American Superstars," Gordie
Brown, Toni Braxton, Second City, George Wallace, "Crazy Horse
Paris," Lance Burton, "Crazy Girls," "An Evening At La Cage"
and Folies Bergere." Each is begging for a lawsuit.
Hillegas did find that most theaters do provide this assistance;
they just don't let anyone - including their own staffs - know
about it. There's no signage at almost any box office on the
Strip. And that's as bad as the alternative.
Of course, this isn't just a matter of my own inconvenience.
Staff attorney Lee Rowland of the American Civil Liberties Union
of Nevada wrote this to me in an email: "Under the Americans
With Disabilities Act, public places such as theaters and special
events venues have a duty to ensure that such places are accessible
and enjoyable by all. The ADA requires places of public accommodation
to provide reasonable auxiliary aids and hearing devices to
individuals with who are hard of hearing or deaf. Unless a particular
venue can show that provision of assisted hearing devices places
an undue burden on their business, the ADA requires that they
be provided to the hearing impaired."
Well, it can't be a cost issue; it's a barely noticeable line
item when you're erecting a multimillion-dollar showroom. What's
more, every movie theater in Las Vegas has hearing-assistive
devices as does every Broadway theater in New York City.
At the premiere of "The Beauty of Magic" at the Planet Hollywood
earlier this month, I asked again. And again, a numbskull employee
told me that it's "really loud" in there. This time, I didn't
take it.
"You're really going to stand there and tell a hearing-impaired
person what's loud?" I snarled. He apologized, then went somewhere
to get me a headset. He took my driver's license as collateral,
which is customary. Not surprisingly, the headset didn't work
once the show was underway, but I think that saved me from hearing
some of the abysmal repartee between Hans Klok and momentary
co-star Pamela Anderson anyway.
After the show, I went as instructed to the mysterious door
in the theater lobby where I was told to knock and turn in the
worthless device to get my license back. Nobody answered. So
I asked a worker in the lobby and she radioed someone. Ten minutes
later, a man comes along to tell me my license was in the Lost-and-Found
at the security desk across the casino.
I went to get it. Just for kicks, since I knew he'd have no
idea what I was talking about, I asked the guard at the L&F
desk what I ought to do with the hearing device. He shrugged.
I walked back to the theater and handed it to the first employee
I could find. She was puzzled, of course. I couldn't care less.
And, clearly, neither could the folks who operate the theater.
###
