Stefan Burn, 33, may have a rare genetic disorder, but he can do a lot: kayaking, canoeing, baking and, especially, going to concerts.
“He loves going to concerts and shows, everything that a typical child would do,” said his father, David Burn. “The sky’s the limit for Stefan.”
Stefan Burn has Angelman syndrome, caused by a chromosomal abnormality. It’s marked by developmental and motor delays and seizures. Those with the syndrome often have a happy demeanor, according to the Angelman Syndrome Foundation.
Burn is mostly nonverbal, but he was excited to see the children’s singer Raffi at the Bushnell Performing Arts Center on May 18. He and his parents, Roberta and David Burn of Berlin, had front-row seats, partly because Stefan also has a vision impairment.
While children were excitedly screaming, waiting for the show to begin, Stefan Burn was saying hi to the stage crew. Then the unexpected happened.
“A few minutes before the show was to start, a person from the Bushnell security comes over to my wife and myself and she sort of whispers, can I talk to you?” David Burn said.
“And she said that we need to move you to the back. The artist could hear you in his dressing room and will not perform if you stay in these seats,” he said. “Basically they were moving us to the back of the theater.”
“We didn’t say anything,” Roberta Burn said. “We were absolutely in shock and just didn’t know what was going on.”
Bushnell’s security was not only moving them to the back, but to the far right rear seats of the theater, she said. Stefan Burn was so upset he wouldn’t move. Roberta Burn said she couldn’t even think to say anything to the security guard.
“He’s very emotionally intelligent, so he knew what was going on,” David Burn said. “He didn’t want to have to move. So first, we tried to get up and walk towards the back and he wanted nothing to do with that. And he’s a big guy. So I then asked the security people if they could bring a wheelchair, so we can at least get him to sit in a wheelchair, which they were somehow able to do.”
Stefan Burn resisted that as well, so his parents wheeled him away quickly so they wouldn’t disrupt the show.
Stefan Burn was so upset, and it was clear he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the show, so his parents decided to leave the theater altogether.
“My son was too upset, and we had to take care of him,” Roberta Burn said.
The Burns said neither Raffi nor the Bushnell reached out to them afterward. Finally, Roberta Burn called the Bushnell and got an apology and a refund for their tickets.
“It was a very traumatic experience for all of us,” she said. “And I was just heartbroken for my son.”
The Raffi organization issued a statement saying:
“Before the show was to begin, Stefan was extremely loud, loud enough to be heard throughout the theater and backstage. Acting on behalf of both the artist and the audience, Bushnell staff asked Stefan and his family to move further back in the hall, where his vocalizations would be less likely to disrupt the performance.
“Raffi has a long history of inclusion at his concerts. Over the years he has met with hundreds of children, paying particular attention to all children with special needs. Of course we are saddened by Stefan’s experience, and we extend our best wishes to him and his parents.”
However, Roberta Burn said her son was simply excited before the show began and wouldn’t have continued making noise once the show began.
“Stefan’s been to hundreds of shows, and he’s never disrupted the show,” including shows on Broadway, Roberta Burn said. “As soon as the show would have started he would have been in awe and just listening.”
The family had another event two weeks later to see a Shrek show at the Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford. “I even said to Robert, I said, you know, I’m really concerned now.”
“But the good news is, we went, everything went great,” Robert Burn said. “The people were so friendly, people were talking to him about Shrek. It was the kind of inclusive environment you would hope for.”
The Burns pointed out how the Bushnell promotes inclusivity as a core value in its statement of diversity and inclusion:
“At The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, we celebrate and foster inclusion through the unique attributes, characteristics, abilities, and perspectives of all individuals. As part of our core mission, we are dedicated to creating a diverse and inclusive cultural campus that reflects our commitment to an environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and included, onstage and off. This sense of belonging empowers individuals and unites communities by creating mutual respect and appreciation.”
“They failed to follow through with their very own diversity and inclusion statement,” Roberta Burn said. “Everything they said in there was everything they didn’t do.”
“Also, by telling us that the artist would not perform if we stayed in those seats, that we had to move, they basically said, OK, you’re going to be blamed if Raffi doesn’t perform for all these kids,” David Burn said.
The incident “really leaves a bad taste in our mouth,” Roberta Burn said. “I mean, they put on good shows there and we’ve been there before with Stefan. We’ve been there as a couple. I don’t know. It’ll take us a while to go back.”
“We’re reasonable people,” she said. “If he was disrupting the show, of course we would take him out; we would leave. But he wasn’t doing that. The show hadn’t even started yet. There were other kids that were screaming just in excitement. And Stefan was saying hi. It was so sad. It was heartbreaking.”
The Bushnell issued a statement, saying: “The Bushnell is aware of the Burns’ experience at the May 18 Raffi performance. We have spoken with the family and have refunded the cost of their tickets. The Bushnell has a long history of being a welcoming place for people of all abilities and we remain committed to expanding and improving experiences for all of our patrons.”
Ed Stannard can be reached at estannard@courant.com.
