Good Time Rating: 5 out of 5 notes that hit the rafters
Wheelchair Rating: 5 out of 5 helpful ushers
12/22/24
Buffalo, NY
Guys, it's my first 5 star Wheelchair Rating! Pop the champagne! Fire the confetti cannon!
Actually don't, because I can't bend to pick up confetti.
I was compelled to check out Kleinhans Music Hall by my talented friends. Danielle is a tiny 7th grader with a very big voice. (We were in a play together- I don't just randomly befriend middle schoolers). She's gonna light up Broadway someday, but for now she was a featured soloist at Kleinhans Holiday Pops Concert. My other talented (and grownup) friend Rebecca performs in the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus. Rebecca kindly gave me a couple of tickets to the show, so me and my Small Blonde Child (SBC) put on our finest and spent an afternoon at the theater.
My five star rating comes with one very big caveat - the parking. Kleinhans does have a lot with handicap parking, but it is SMALL. On the accessibility information on their website, they recommend handicap theater goers get dropped off at the door. That wasn't gonna be an option for us- unless I let the 10-year-old park the car (believe me, she wanted to). We had to park on the street, a 6-minute walk away, with unshoveled sidewalks the whole way. It was not fun times. After the show, I emailed the theater to ask when they would suggest getting there to grab one of those coveted spots in their lot. They recommend arriving when the doors open, usually an hour before the show. Next time I'll do that. Or bring a friend with a driver's license. Or take an Uber.
Anyway, we fought our way through the snow, made it to the theater, and after that it was pretty smooth sailing (er, rolling). Doors were easy to get through. Floors were nice and smooth. Concessions were pretty typical, overpriced theater fare - we got some M&Ms for SBC and wine in a sippy cup for myself.
Now, my tickets were comps (Love you, Rebecca!). I did not go through the online ticket buying process and did not attempt to get a handicap seat. But Rebecca told them I would have a wheelchair, and I suspect they might have taken that to heart. Our seats were in the back and near the end of the row. Fear not if you're planning to sit closer to the front. There are no stairs to get down there, it's a ramp all the way down to the orchestra seats. That ramp is pretty steep though and I have weak, wiggly noodle arms. I was glad to be right at the top of the ramp and not have to attempt muscling my way up and down. Down might have been fun though...
An usher showed us to our seats, and politely confirmed I was capable of transferring. She took my chair for me and wheeled it to the back of the theater, where she tagged it and assured me she'd bring it right to me when the show was over. I don't love being separated from my chair, but at least I could see it from where I was sitting.
I spotted another wheelchair user who had scored the official handicap seating. They put him in what might be called the standing room at the back. Not the best view in the house, but honestly we weren't much closer and we could see fine. I could still spot my friend, Rebecca, at the back of the stage with the chorus. And when the show started, we had no trouble hearing every note.
Holiday Pops was a family friendly performance of Christmas pop songs featuring the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, the Hamburg Middle School Chorus, two vocal soloists with Broadway credentials, and a partridge in a pear tree. They packed that stage with talented people, and all that talent combined to create a sound that soared to the rafters. The show kicked off with a stellar rendition of "Home for the Holidays". The kids did some songs from Polar Express (good book, terrible movie, great music), and my little friend Danielle performed a duet with one of the vocal soloists, Stephanie Jae Park. Kleinhans does not allow photos during the show and I definitely took one anyway.
With zero offence meant to my friends, our favorite was the "Chanukah Suite" medley performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Honestly I wish more places would play Chanukah music around the holidays, because those songs were all bops. It was a nice break from the music we've all heard 10,000 times already this month. It also really gave the horn section something to do.
I had a tiny bit of trouble getting to the bathrooms at intermission. The ushers did not bring my chair over (they DID bring it at the end of the show), but that's what SBC is for. Bathroom signage guided us to a staircase. I had to ask before I found the elevator- located at the entrance and sort of behind the counter (clearly designed for staff use and made available to handicap guests). When I emailed Kleinhans after the show, I suggested they add a note about the elevator's location to the bathroom sign.
The concert was a good length, long enough to feel like we would have got our money's worth, but not so long that the wiggly kids got TOO wiggly. It ended with a sing-a-long that was a helluva lot of fun, and we were out in time for the sports ball game (Go Bills!). We'll definitely be back to Kleinhans (even without the ticket hookup), and might even make the holiday concert an annual tradition.
Happy belated holidays, faithful readers! I hope you all gave great gifts this year and kissed someone wonderful on New Year's Eve.
Do you have a suggestion where Accessible Buffalo should go next? Somewhere that deserves to be highly praised or viciously called out for their accessibility? Leave me a comment!
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