GalaPro 4+

I am hearing impaired and was pleased to find out, a few weeks ago, that closed captioning was available for To Kill a Mockingbird in Orlando, through GalaPro. Unfortunately, it was a lesson in frustration. Setting it up and logging into the Wi-Fi was easy enough, but the captioning raced ahead or lagged behind or froze and skipped ahead and then the signal dropped. After reconnecting and having successful captioning for a few minutes it threw an error message that said the password was incorrect. I reconnected again and restarted the app, which remained out of synch with actual dialog for a few minutes and it disconnected again. At that point my (brand new) iPhone went back in my purse and I attempted as much lip reading as possible (not much).

Today my husband and I attended a different stage show at a different venue and during intermission I found out that captioning was available. After setting up my phone and logging in to the Wi-Fi, the app showed “intermission”. As the second act started, the screen changed to “End of Act 1” and then displayed the final line of the chorus that was sung at the end of that act. No Act 2 dialog ever appeared. I restarted the app and reconnected to the GalaPro Wi-Fi but that same last line of the prior act was all that appeared. Again, the phone went back in my purse. Maybe the third time will be the charm? Somehow, I doubt it.

I downloaded this in advance of seeing Hamilton. After I got everything set up, connected to the wifi as it directed me to and got the word Hamilton on the screen, nothing happened. The show started and there was no closed captioning. I waited a few minutes but nothing worked. At intermission, I asked the woman at the service office and she knew nothing about it, but said she’d ask a tour manager, which was a worthless effort as they just laughed and said that never works. Basically, waste your time if you want but this isn’t good technology yet.

I recently have used GalaPro twice, once in Atlanta and once in Manhattan. I was disappointed each time bc the app was out of sync. The first time in Atlanta, the app froze for a minute or two every ten minutes. The second time in Manhattan, the syncing was too fast and way ahead of the script. I am optimistic that this app is a worthwhile and a work in progress for the hearing impaired like me.

July 7th 2019: Finally, blissful success! While at the Music Box Theatre in Manhattan,I used GalaPro and marveled at the perfect synchronization. I noticed that it corrected itself if the sync went to fast or two slow. I look forward to more experiences like this one where I could enjoy following the dialogue with 100% accuracy.

On another note, in conjunction with GalaPro, I also used the T- coil headset at several Manhattan theatres. After experiencing an annoying beep during the second acts, I finally hit on a solution suggested by the staff member at the Music Box. I obtained a freshly charged battery for the T coil headset from the staff. Results? No more annoying beeps! Other staffs at the other theaters attributed the beeping to their internet connection. Kudos to the Music Box and their amazing staff!