Casting controversy for B'way "Miracle Worker"

October 29, 2009
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Abigail Breslin, the star of "Little Miss Sunshine," has been cast as Helen Keller in an upcoming Broadway revival of "The Miracle Worker."

The problem according to the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts, is that, unlike her character, Breslin can see and hear.

The group's executive director has complained that actors with disabilities were not auditioned for the role, saying: “We do not think it’s O.K. for reputable producers to cast this lead role without seriously considering an actress from our community." See the New York Times item here.

Producing a Broadway show these days--any Broadway show--is a risky proposition. And the producers have said that they will audition deaf or blind actresses to understudy Breslin. Still, do you see any problem with Breslin being cast in the role made famous by Patty Duke back in the original 1959 production?

Is there a difference between casting based on physical abilities and casting based on ethnicity? Should a blind actor have been given a shot at Al Pacino's character in "Scent of a Woman"? Should an actual amputee have played Lt. Dan in "Forest Gump"?

Your thoughts?

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  • PLEASE BE FAIR!
    Howie SeagoOctober 29, 2009 1:19 PM
    All we are asking is give us a fighting chance to show our skills, energy, passion and SPECIALNESS that would add so much more artistic and emotional power to the role. Believe you me!!
    Deaf Professional Actor
    Oregon Shakespeare Festival (full time)
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  • Let actors audition
    Cindy DashnawOctober 29, 2009 5:40 PM
    No professional actor should be barred from auditioning from a role because of a disability. If an actor can't perform a role, for whatever reason, I'd think he or she wouldn't get the role. But there is no reason not to the let them audition.

    Breslin should not be blamed, though.
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  • Alliance statement
    AllianceNovember 5, 2009 12:06 PM
    The Alliance fully supports artistic freedom and has never protested the casting of Abigail Breslin in The Miracle Worker. We support the creative freedom that all artists bring to the casting process. However, it was our disappointment not with the selection, but the process in which the production selected Ms. Breslin, an actor of immense talent, that required that we speak. It would be our hope that the producers of work such as The Miracle Worker consider in their casting process actors from the communities we service, actors who could also bring significant breadth and depth to the role. That is our hope for the future of this project, this role, and other roles and projects in this same position -- consider those in the community represented on-stage. And to be clear, it is not and never has been our position to call for the firing of any actor and we only wish Ms. Breslin the best in her Broadway debut.

    The Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts
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  • French satellite tv
    ZoieDecember 14, 2009 12:31 PM
    Excuse me. Howard Hughes was able to afford the luxury of madness, like a man who not only thinks he is Napoleon but hires an army to prove it. Help me! Need information about: French satellite tv. I found only this - auto satellite tv. It's one of the most fast channels in counteractors first at the total, satellite tv. Satellite tv, very better, you can have a really wider building of channels to obtain from. With love :confused:, Zoie from Cambodia.
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

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