Being Heumann: One Night Only at the Prospector Theater

They would not take her phone calls, so she took their building.

In 1977 a young disabled woman named Judy Heumann, played by Ruth Madeley, led more than a hundred young people into the federal building in San Francisco and would not leave. What started as one impulsive act turned into the longest occupation of a federal building in American history, with hundreds seizing government offices and staying put until the bureaucrat standing in their way, played by Mark Ruffalo, finally acted. Siân Heder, who wrote and directed CODA, wrote and directed this one too, and Dylan O'Brien, Madeline Delp, Rob Delaney and Ray Fisher fill out the cast. It is based on true events, and it is far more irreverent and more human than that description makes it sound.

There is probably no screen in Fairfield County where this film lands harder than this one. The Prospector exists to employ people with disabilities, and this is the story of the people who fought to make that kind of work a right rather than a favor.

It's one night only. A single 7pm show on Thursday, November 19, running with open captions on screen and audio description. Times can change, so check the showtimes page before you go.

Good to know. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for kids 11 and under. The booking system has not posted a running time or a rating for this one yet.

Every ticket does some good. The Prospector is a nonprofit theater built to employ adults with disabilities, who the theater calls Prospects. They greet you and seat you before every show.

Make a night of it. The Heads Up Café inside the theater pours coffee, beer and wine, and the ceiling is covered in pennies hand-placed heads up by the Prospects. Downtown Ridgefield's Main Street restaurants are a short walk away.