Photo: The cast of the ALADDIN tour. Photo by Deen van Meer.

On Wednesday, NBC 5 reported on a woman who was asked to remove her autistic son from a performance of the touring production of Disney’s ALADDIN at the Cadillac Palace. “He has autism, he makes noises, he can’t speak,” Kathy Waller said of her 7-year-old son Thomas. Waller and her son are regular theatergoers, and she told NBC that they’ve never been asked to leave before. An usher tapped her on the shoulder and said her son was a disruption to the cast and asked them to step out of the theater.

In a statement, the organization apologized for the incident, saying “Broadway In Chicago is deeply sorry for the circumstances that occurred on May 10th, 2017, in the Cadillac Palace Theatre which resulted in a family leaving the matinee performance of Aladdin. Broadway In Chicago immediately contacted the affected family, facilitated a full refund and offered them the opportunity to return to the theater to see ALADDIN or another show at Broadway In Chicago, as our guests. We look forward to working with them to make their return visit a positive one. As with all patron concerns that arise at any Broadway In Chicago theater, we will continue to review the matter to ensure that all staff are taking care of our customers in the most inclusive way. It is incredibly important to us that all of our guests enjoy their experience; they are our number one concern.”