2010 - THEATRE - The miracle worker

See what the stars of THE MIRACLE WORKER, Abigail Breslin, Alison Pill, Matthew Modine, Jennifer Morrison and Elizabeth Franz, had to say about the first-ever Broadway revival of Helen Keller's true-life story! Performances begin February 12, 2010 at Circle in the Square Theatre on Broadway!

Matthew Modine: I was flabbergasted by how I didn’t know the material when I read the play. Because, while it’s still very much a story about a teacher and a student, it’s much more a story about a family dealing with a crisis in the house.

Jennifer Morrison: Upon re-reading it, I just realized how complicated all the relationships in the story were, and how beautifully developed all the characters were. It’s not one of those stories where the two main characters are developed and everybody else is just there to help. Every single character has real depth.

Alison Pill: This story is well known, but the details have been kind of fudged around the edges. It’s a really incredible thing that they did, and to not take for granted that any of it was possible.

Kate Whoriskey: We’ve been doing two hours of physical training with Abigail and Alison every day, so that they can, particularly Abigail, get a sense of how to communicate if the body is all she has, and what she’s been finding is really extraordinary.

Abigail Breslin: The difference between doing film and doing Broadway, is obviously, in film you can get as many takes as you need. In this you don’t. You get one take every night, that’s it.

Matthew Modine: The miracle in this play comes when Annie Sullivan finds a way to communicate through letters in Helen Keller’s hand. There was no way they were going to make Helen see again or hear again, but they made Helen to see and hear in a different way, so it’s a story about communication. That’s a very contemporary story.

Elizabeth Franz: You’re going to go out very “hope-filled,” and you’re going to see that obstacles in life can be overcome. You have to fight; you have to fight for life.

Jennifer Morrison: People in general, based on the circumstances in the country right now, at this very moment are going to really relate to what this family is going through, and find hope. This family is ultimately able to get through the adversity, and is able to come together to find a solution for them to move forward.

Abigail Breslin: We really just go through a lot of emotions in this play, and I really just think that it has a million different “colors” to it.

Kate Whoriskey: If you’re willing to go with us through the journey of it, you’ll actually have something at the end. I think the story is triumphant.

Alison Pill: It’s an inspiring and incredible story. There’s not going to be another chance to see this cast in the round, as close as we are. It’s a Broadway house, but it’s tiny, and so much of what we get to do is so near and so raw. I think it’s going to be a really exciting night at the theatre. You will walk out of it changed.

Forty years ago, The Miracle Worker won the Tony award for best play, and Anne Bancroft took home the Tony for best actress. The play is making its way back to Broadway, and we talked to the actors who will be performing the production.