Shifting Broadway’s Spotlight Toward Inclusion

Amid the scrapbooks and memorabilia documenting Jenna Bainbridge’s childhood, there’s video footage of her at 15, insisting, “I will never be on Broadway.” Despite performing since age 12, and graduating from Denver’s Lamont School of Music, Bainbridge — who sustained a spinal cord injury at 18 months — couldn’t envision herself performing in the nation’s premier theaters as a wheelchair user.

Now those scrapbooks will have to add a new photo, capturing Bainbridge’s speechlessness upon learning last year that the musical she had been cast in, Suffs, was headed to Broadway. “I was ecstatic about the opportunity,” she says, “but at the same time I was left with the questions I often end up with: ‘Why is the history and lived experience of those with disabilities not present in Broadway productions? Why aren’t there more disabled playwrights?’” Bainbridge feels there is value in having a disabled character play a nondisabled role, but she is also striving for larger goals, like helping others understand the importance of showing disability as part of our history and culture.

ACT 1:

The Dream Opportunity

For years, Bainbridge acted in local productions and gave voice lessons, and when the pandemic hit, she was working in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. To maintain her unemployment benefits, she had to audition for a certain number of shows per week. “I decided to try out for any pipe dream job,” she says. One audition in particular caught her eye: Suffs at The Public, one of New York’s premier nonprofit theaters.

Bainbridge had long wanted to work with The Public, and everything seemed to be aligning as the theater had started offering video auditions during the pandemic. “The concept of auditioning remotely opened opportunities for actors with disabilities. If not for that, I don’t know if I would’ve auditioned,” she says. Bainbridge was upfront about her disability and sent a wide-angle shot so the producers could clearly see her wheelchair.

ACT 2:

The Big City

When Bainbridge found out she had been cast as a member of the ensemble, she quickly had to decide if she would go to New York City. Luckily, her sister was living near the city, and she was able to live with her for the workshop. Bainbridge and her husband opted to live outside the city. “I wanted to maintain my suburban life and still experience the hustle and bustle of Manhattan,” she says.

Her first challenge as a disabled actor in New York was transportation. “I was daunted by the idea of trying to make New York accessible for me,” she says. “I was used to the suburbs and driving everywhere. It sounds crazy, but I never envisioned that I could drive in New York.” Public transportation was a big challenge, but Bainbridge made sure her contract with The Public included nearby parking.

Photo by Joan Marcus

The directors of Suffs sought out a diverse cast.

ACT 3:

Broadway Beckons

The next challenge Bainbridge anticipated was accessibility. Fortunately, The Public’s architecture readily accommodated Bainbridge’s wheelchair. The stage level had no steps and there was an elevator to the third level for any scenes there. There was an accessible bathroom, but it was inconvenient to access from where the performers were located. “The producers were very open to working with me and told me that the backstage bathroom was not ADA-compliant, but they would do whatever was needed to fit my needs. I was able to use the bathroom, so it worked out,” she says. “Their open communication about accessibility challenges and willingness to make accommodations was refreshing.”

The show’s run at The Public came to an end in the spring of 2022, and in October 2023 it was announced that Suffs would make the move to Broadway’s Music Box Theatre in March 2024. On the positive side, the theater was on Broadway. On the negative, like many Broadway houses, the Music Box is designated a historical landmark, and its layout poses significant physical barriers.

“The producers supported me,” says Bainbridge. Just for access to the stage door, the crew had to build a ramp. Immediately inside the stage door there was another ramp on three steps. The crew built railings because of its steepness. “I doubt most wheelchair users without significant strength could get up that ramp,” she says. They also converted a closet on the stage level into a dressing room and installed an accessible bathroom for cast members on that level. “When I leave this theater, I know that it has been made more accessible,” she says. “It may not be perfectly accessible, [but] I am hopeful that the modifications will be retained because it benefits wheelchair users and hopefully … the entire cast.”

ACT 4:

Bright Lights, Busy Schedules

Bainbridge points out that starring in the ensemble is physically demanding regardless of disability. A typical day starts by driving to the theater and arriving by noon, with extensive stretching to get warm and flexible. Bainbridge does not get home until midnight. “The days are long, and especially exhausting when we have five performances in a row,” says Bainbridge. “We are dancing the entire time. Once the performance begins, it is like being shot out of a cannon. … Between performances there are cots provided by the union for resting and napping. Sometimes I choose to rest and other times I have the energy to go out for a meal with members of the cast.”

Bainbridge wonders if Broadway should rethink its scheduling. “This is the time to rethink how theater, and especially Broadway, works,” she says, adding that Suffs has performances Friday night at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and then Sunday at 3 p.m. “Weekends are extraordinarily brutal. … Should we be having so many performances in a row?” she says. As Bainbridge points out, this grueling regimen is partially built into the very ethos of Broadway. “There is nothing more ableist than the saying, ‘the show must go on,’” she says. Difficulties aside, Bainbridge loves her roles. From the outset, the directors worked with her so as an ambulatory wheelchair user she could play both seated and standing roles. “This show was built so that it would be accessible for me. I always play the same roles, but I have a choice to either walk or use my wheelchair,” she says.

ACT 5:

A Better Future

When asked if Broadway has made significant progress toward accessibility, Bainbridge is hesitant. She praises the inclusive viewpoints of Suffs’ writers, directors, producers and choreographers. “Because of the subject matter of the play, from the outset they wanted a diverse cast,” she says. “They made it clear that they would work with me and wanted my input.” But she sees significant room for improvement across Broadway.

Bainbridge is eager to work through her firm, ConsultAbility, educating theatre companies, unions and educational institutions about access on Broadway and beyond. “Until we get accessibility built into safety budgets, there will be no change,” she says. “We need the architects and everyone involved in theater to understand that access is not an aesthetic, it is a part of life.”

Bainbridge says, “The biggest gratification for me is getting messages from individuals seeing what I do and visualizing their dreams. Whether they are going to be an actor, advocate, journalist [or] senator, they see that it is possible. For those with disabilities [who] want to perform on stage, it makes me passionate to make change.”