Another theatre has installed Auracast, and this one came with a little help from some friends.
The new assistive listening technology is now operational in the West Herr Auditorium, part of the Rochester Broadway Theatre League, in New York.
The theatre dates back to 1928, has 2,400 seats, and hosts touring Broadway shows such as Tony award-winner Suffs, a new show from comedian Jerry Seinfeld, and the West End show Bat Out of Hell.
Installing Auracast is the latest in a series of measures implemented by the Rochester Broadway Theatre League to ensure its productions are accessible to the widest audience, including wheelchair users, those who are visually impaired, or hard of hearing.
While those with their own Auracast-enabled headphones, hearing aids, Cochlear or earbuds can use their own devices to tune in to the Auracast in use, the theatre makes headphones available on a first-come, first-served basis. To borrow them, patrons need to visit the Patron Services station on the main floor lobby in the hour before the show starts. They need photo ID, which is kept as a deposit, but there is no charge to use the system.
For those with older hearing aids that do not have Auracast, the theatre maintains a stock of FM headphones, available free of charge and an hour before showtime, again by showing photo ID.
Audio-described and Open Caption performances are usually held during a Sunday matinee, and American Sign Language interpreted performances on Thursday evenings. All of this makes the theatre as open as possible.
Funding for the Auracast system was provided by the Hearing Loss Association – Rochester Chapter (HLAA), and the system was installed in December 2025. It is the Bettear B-Caster system and, like all Auracast installations, allows patrons to sit anywhere in the auditorium, opening up real freedom of choice for those wanting to see a show.
The theatre has made full use of it since, and has been an enthusiastic champion of the technology as a result.
A spokesperson said: “RBTL staff were excited when Auracast was installed at the West Herr Auditorium Theatre, as we are always looking at ways to make live entertainment more accessible to all. We take pride in seeing audiences utilise the new features made available to them.
“Patrons have provided positive feedback about the system and, like our staff, appreciate that it is easy to connect to, including through compatible hearing aids.”
The Hearing Loss Association Rochester Chapter’s offer to fund the system has been greatly appreciated by the theatre’s team, as it enabled the system to be installed quickly and allowed the theatre to be among the first to adopt Auracast as a standard.
“RBTL is immensely grateful for the continued support from HLAA, as well as Sue Miller, who is a founding member of the Rochester chapter,” the spokesperson said.
“Sue has philanthropically supported us throughout the years, to ensure RBTL is able to provide a variety of services to our diverse audiences, including those who are hard of hearing.
“For more than 15 years, RBTL has offered Open Captioning at certain performances, as well as provided FM Listening Devices at all performances. Now, we are so happy we can offer an additional service to enhance our patrons’ theatre-going experiences.”
For more details, log on to: https://rbtl.org/accessibility-services/
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