"Amy and the Orphans" Led Me To Watch Geraldo Rivera's 1972 "Willowbrook" Expose...

Plays about "special needs" resonate with me. 

In recent years, I experienced Deanna Jent's Falling about the reality of a family dealing with an autistic son, subject to violent outbursts. 

Then Amy Herzog's Mary Jane about a mother coping with caring for her chronically sick child. 

And now, Lindsey Ferrentino's Amy and the Orphans, which runs through April 22nd at The Laura Pels Theatre, about two siblings reuniting with their sister, who has Down Syndrome. 

Days after seeing the play, Amy has remained with me...so much so that it led me one night to Geraldo Rivera's 1972 expose about Willowbrook State School and how New York State failed those with "special needs."  

Beware, the expose is difficult to watch and may leave you restless (as it did me)...