Thursday, October 29, 2009
Theater Backlash from Disability Advocacy Group on Broadway Keller Casting
Posted by Benjamin Sutton on Thu, Oct 29, 2009 at 3:47 PM
In the case of The Miracle Worker, the production company behind the Broadway show wanted a star from the get-go, and there was never a question of casting a deaf or blind actor in the part of Keller, who cannot hear or see. Lead producer David Richenthal explained the predictable financial reasons to ArtsBeat:
It’s simply naïve to think that in this day and age, you’ll be able to sell tickets to a play revival solely on the potential of the production to be a great show or on the potential for an unknown actress to give a breakthrough performance. I would consider it financially irresponsible to approach a major revival without making a serious effort to get a star.
Which is both exactly what you'd expect from a Broadway producer and very naïve in its condescension to Broadway audiences.
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