On Tuesday, April 24th, the Columbus East Drama Department put on a special showing of its spring musical, Beauty and the Beast. This showing was performed so that people with autism could enjoy going to the theater to see a play without having to deal with loud noises and bright lights.

Kevin Welsh, director of the musical, speaks about his inspiration for putting on this showing of the play.

“My daughter has autism. We have experienced obviously firsthand at a number of events that the sensory input is too much for a lot of the people with autism to handle really well,” Welsh said. 

Welsh had heard of other theaters putting on similar events, particularly for showings of movies rather than plays, and he thought it was time to bring the concept to East.

“We have always wanted to reach out to the community to do special events like this,” Welsh said.

The play will continue this weekend with showings Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and a matinee on Sunday at 2:30. Tickets will be $8.00 at the door.