By: Lizzy Staugler

     I have seen quite a few stage performances in my lifetime, from the smallest of stages in my high school, to the bigger ones in Boston. However, of the ones I have seen there was only one other play that had an actor performing on the stage that had a visible disability playing the role of a character who wasn’t originally written to have one. Two different shows taking that leap into pushing shows passed their comfort zones. 

     While Henry VI is the second play I’ve seen taking this leap, it’s just as important, and stood out just as much, if not more, as the first play I saw that did this. I saw To Kill A Mockingbird where one of the characters was played by a deaf actor, however this character didn’t come out until later, and wasn’t seen very much throughout the play. Comparing this to Henry VI where a main character, Richard The III was played by someone with a disability shows just how great representation has grown. Also the fact that throughout the performance they didn’t just ignore the fact that the actor playing Richard The III had a disability but instead just showcased it and made it a part of the character really just proves that anyone can act on stage. This is such a step in the right direction for plays and musicals. I can only hope to see more of these actions being taken place in the near future