Again, a hearing (and in this case, seeing) actor has been cast in a high-profile role, this time on Broadway. The role is that of the young Helen Keller in a remake of the Miracle Worker. The producer said he had to hire a well-known star (Abigail Breslin) because he needed the power of a star name to attract investment. He said there were no well-known young stars who are deaf and blind.
He is correct about one thing – that there are no well-known young deaf and blind stars. The deaf acting community is small, and even most “stars” of that community do not have the power of being household names. Deanne Bray? Shoshannah Stern? How many hearing people are aware that they exist as actors? The only deaf actor whose name is fairly recognizable by many hearing people is Marlee Matlin, and she is too old for the role of the young Helen Keller.
Earlier, there were similar objections to a hearing actor playing Singer in a production of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. In that case, the actor who got the role had already played the role in an earlier production of the play. In this case, the role of Helen Keller is a new role.
My feelings about this? It is clearly becoming a trend to NOT hire deaf or blind people for “disability roles.” While I understand the producer’s concerns (are investors really that intolerant of a non-star?), I personally think that the producer is making a mistake here. Deafness (and blindness) are not something you can fake. Deafness is not something that you can just know about, it is something that you LIVE with on a daily basis. Can a hearing child actor really project the frustrations of what it is like to be deaf? Can the hearing child actor really make the audience FEEL what it is like to be deaf?
Money Talks on Broadway originally appeared on About.com Deafness on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 12:53:21.
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