Abigail Breslin’s casting as Helen Keller draws criticism from an advocacy group

An advocacy group called The Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts has spoken out against Abigail Breslin’s casting as deaf and blind activist Hellen Keller in a Broadway revival of the play based on Keller’s amazing life. According to this group, a deaf or blind actress should have been considered for the role. The producer says he’s just trying to ensure ticket sales, and that he’ll try to cast a deaf or blind understudy for Breslin – if they can find someone “qualified”:

It was announced Wednesday that 13-year-old Abigail Breslin will play Helen Keller in the Broadway revival of ‘The Miracle Worker’ this winter. But the news is being met with extreme opposition by blind and deaf advocacy groups, simply because of Breslin’s ability to see and hear.

“We do not think it’s O.K. for reputable producers to cast this lead role without seriously considering an actress from our community,” said Sharon Jensen, executive director of the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts, to the New York Times. “I understand how difficult it is to capitalize a new production on Broadway, but that to me is not the issue. There are other, larger human and artistic issues at stake here.”

The show’s producer, David Richenthal, made it clear that he wanted a star to play Keller in order to ensure commercial success, and he was unable to find a blind or deaf child actor who fit the bill. Breslin’s star power stems from her Academy Award nomination for her role as Olive in ‘Little Miss Sunshine.’

“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,” he said. “I would consider it financially irresponsible to approach a major revival without making a serious effort to get a star.”

The producers do plan to audition blind and deaf actresses for Breslin’s understudy, however, in a compromise that Richenthal says will still allow for high ticket sales. But he stressed that a seeing and hearing actress may be cast as understudy if they cannot find a “qualified” deaf or blind actress.

Helen Keller was a deaf and blind author and activist. ‘The Miracle Worker’ follows the relationship between Keller and Anne Sullivan — the woman who taught her to communicate.

[From Popeater]

First of all, it’s worth noting that despite the use of “advocacy groups” in the cited text, this is just one specific group that objects to Breslin being cast. I think that when a group has a controversial viewpoint there’s a tendency for outsiders to lump them all together and that’s not the case. The National Association of the Deaf and the National Federation of the Blind are not the ones making a stink here. They probably have a lot of other things to deal with. (I’ve emailed both organizations for comment and will update this post if I hear back.) Second, no one is dissing a little girl. It’s not Breslin that this group has a beef with.

Many of us will side with the producer who is just looking at the bottom line, because that makes sense. However, there’s also the tendency to discount the fact that a blind or deaf actress would be capable of playing the part. People without disabilities often make false assumptions that the disabled can’t do basic things, or have a much harder time than they do. Some of us don’t understand that they’re just as capable as we are, and often overestimate the accommodations they need. There’s another issue though, that deaf and blind kids might not have experience on the stage – because they’re not being hired in the first place. It’s kind of a catch-22.

I get what the producer is saying – he needed a known commodity in the lead in order to sell tickets. On the other hand, it’s time that disabled people aren’t just portrayed on screen and are hired for both those type of roles and more mainstream roles. Can you name a deaf or blind actor or actress other than Marlee Matlin?