Scott and I went to see The Miracle Worker this past Tuesday night.
The story of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan has become part of our culture, and I’m sure many felt they knew the story. This production in the round changes that.
Allison Pill, as Anne Sullivan, does an amazing job balancing vulnerability and strength in equal parts. Her determination and force of will are staggering. She’s brash and bold, and the best vehicle for these traits is her delivery of zingers throughout the play… not only providing some comic relief so the audience can collectively catch its breath, but also underscoring just how important it is to keep one’s sense of humor in challenging situations.
Abigail Breslin’s performance is so raw and delicate at the same time. There are many moments where she flings her young body to and fro, an illustration of Helen’s inner frustration at her inability to express herself “normally” and be understood. Then there are other moments where she curls into a ball, burying herself in her mother’s arms, thriving on the attention her fretful mother gives her.
Jennifer Morrison, as Katie Keller (Helen’s mom), treads a delicate balance of not knowing what to do for her daughter and doing everything for her. In every mannerism (from the way she holds Abigail, to the way she walks with the wind knocked out of her when the child is not near her) we see her walking that tightrope.
The family, from her father, Capt. Keller (played by Matthew Modine), to her step brother, James, (Tobias Segel), and Aunt Ev (Elizabeth Franz), have no idea how to deal with her… and their frustration often results in their most challenging traits on display.
The payoff that we all know is coming is what makes the show ultimately successful. We all know Annie finds a way to communicate with Helen, who in turn finds her way to communicate with the world. But even though I knew it was coming, the waterworks came fast and hard when Abigail began pumping that water and finally understood the words “Mother” and “Teacher.”
Happily, we saw it on a Talkback Tuesday. The entire cast, and the production’s director, Kate Whoriskey, were on hand to give us further insight into the process of how this show came to be what we saw that night.
A new mom herself, Whoriskey was able to articulate just what makes this story so unique. As a parent, you want to do the best you can by your child, but as Helen was an exceptional child with exceptional needs, Katie and Capt. Keller had to come to grips with the fact that they were not equipped to be their daughter’s primary caretaker… and they had to trust a 20 year old girl, who herself had been blind, to do it.
I was most pleased that night to see scores of children with their families in attendance. And I hope that those families keep spreading the word so this show can keep inspiring the next generation to reach for things that at times might seem impossible.
Get your tickets here.
–Sue
March 11th, 2010
I recently heard about a new group that I thought my readers would benefit from, The New York Broadway Meetup Group, which is dedicated to bringing fellow theatre lovers together for a show.
Not only do I LOVE the idea of fostering community even before stepping foot in the theatre, I LOVE the discounts they offer for top shows… giving folks that might otherwise be priced out, a chance to experience live theatre. Some (off/off-off-Broadway tickets) are even on offer for FREE! (How can you beat that?)
You’ll be asked to sign up with an email address and username to start a profile. To RSVP for an event, just click on the link, and you’ll be asked to pay for your tickets through paypal. Once your payment has been processed, you’ll get an email confirmation. You’ll also get emails about upcoming events that might be of interest.
Check it out, and check out some of the best Broadway has to offer.
–Sue
March 10th, 2010
There were a few holes I felt needed to be filled in our musical…threads that I felt were left hanging, or character/story arcs that just didn’t reach a conclusion I was satisfied with. When I spoke to my collaborator, he was wary about changing it again, as we’ve been working on it for years. But we went forward.
He saw how much it meant to me — how passionate I was. And now we have two beautiful new songs, and a subplot for a main character, which also fleshed out a secondary character, to boot.
And we (I think I can safely speak for both of us here) couldn’t be happier! Because at the end of the day, that’s what collaboration is, negotiation… and that negotiation is what makes the show stronger, because it really is bigger than any one of us, it’s a shared vision.
Now all we need are other collaborators to join us in bringing our show to life!
–Sue
March 9th, 2010
I was showing one of my nieces a picture from a recent trip. It was dusk, and there were birds perched in the trees in a beautiful park. She looked at the shot and jumped back in her seat.
“What is that?”
“What?”
“That!” She said pointing.
“Lamps?”
She laughed, relieved, “Oh, I thought it was eyes!”
And then I started laughing.
She’s very smart, my niece. She’s almost eight, and it’s obvious she’s got an active imagination.
It was in that moment that she showed me why I love writing for children. It’s why “Another Place In Time” and the Brubal stories have such a special place in my heart. Not only are they for families to share, but they also spark the imaginations of children — taking my visions and making them even bigger!
If I had to look into the future, I think I’d see a lot more projects for children and their families.
–Sue
March 8th, 2010
Ask any writer what her best project is, and she’ll tell you it’s what she’s working on now. (And this is more than understandable… you need to have that internal motivation to keep working and moving forward in the hopes to get it out into the world without any kind of guarantee — pay, deadline, recognition during the process, or even any promise of recognition after.)
Unfortunately, over a year ago, when I was knee deep in a new musical, I sent some of the songs out, and got my first rejection.
By this point, even though it’s true rejection is rejection, it’s par for the course… I think it was too early for that piece to go out into the world. I didn’t even have a full first draft yet!
Like a baby bird that hasn’t yet learned to fly, that piece was swiftly grounded. And unfortunately, I haven’t touched it since.
But, I’ve been hearing pieces of my favorite song, the finale, over and over again… It’s the last thing I heard in my consciousness before drifting off to sleep last night.
And though it might have been too early, it feels like it’s finally time to get this going again.
–Sue
March 5th, 2010
Tri-State area youngsters have an opportunity to compete for the chance to have their play performed in Chicago. The producers of Billy Elliot, Elton John, and corporate sponsor Fidelity have teamed up to bring the Fidelity Future Stage contest to our area. Here’s the contest in a nutshell from Broadway.com:
Students are invited to write a 10-minute, one-act play reflecting one of the themes from the story of Billy Elliot: pursuing a dream, discovering a special talent or overcoming an obstacle. One grand prize winner will have the opportunity to attend the opening night of Billy Elliot the Musical in Chicago, walk the red carpet, attend the after-party and have their play produced on Broadway. That play will be performed live at the Fidelity FutureStage finale gala event on June 14, 2010 at the Imperial Theatre.
The deadline is fast approaching, 3/15/10, so if you know any teens who would like to submit, encourage them to write right now!
–Sue
March 4th, 2010
One of the best things about songs for children is how simple yet profound their messages are. Another wonderful plus is that they usually use colorful imagery to tell the story behind the song.
One such case is a beautiful song about giraffes. The last line of the song states that to giraffes, because they are so tall, even the biggest problems for humans seem really small.
We can all grow like giraffes in our hearts, looking at things from a different angle and taking a different perspective or approach… making problems seem like nothing at all.
–Sue
March 3rd, 2010
My brother recently asked me how my writing is going. I mentioned the complete overhaul of the second act of “Business.” He then asked me if I get feedback from literary managers/artistic directors/producers when I send them my work.
“Nope.” I said matter-of-factly. (Though to be fair, many get inundated with manuscript after manuscript.)
“So, how do you know what to fix?” He was stumped…
“I just go back and take another look, with a critical eye.”
The conversation kind of died after that, I don’t think that answer satisfied him.
Today, I came up with another answer, though I’m not sure it’s any more satisfying… I find out what I need to change by listening to the piece… Hearing what the show is trying to tell me.
I’m not being vague, this is really the best answer I can come up with. It’s like reaching for that glass of milk when your body needs calcium. It’s a matter of just tuning in.
When I can’t hear what I need to hear, that’s when I ask actors to read a play aloud… so I can have a little distance and hear the words in the mouths of actors, instead of just my head.
Hopefully, the changes I’ve made make the difference.
–Sue
March 2nd, 2010
After an interesting panel discussion yesterday, the moderator (who happens to be a well known theatre critic), mentioned a website that peaked my interest.
StageGrade is exactly what it sounds like: a website that gives “grades” to the shows currently on offer in NYC. It takes the reviews that are out on a show, giving a short synopsis of each (including the name of the reviewer and the media outlet they represent), and “averages” them. Shows can get A’s or D-’s (that was the lowest I saw).
For easy access to the shows on the site, they are listed on a left hand navigation bar, with their grades alongside them. Just click on a link and presto, access to the reviews for that show.
Even if you don’t end up paying attention to the grading feature, it’s a valuable resource as a review aggregator.
–Sue
PS — Another review-centric site you might like is “Did He Like It“.
March 1st, 2010
I have to admit, it’s not the first time I’ve heard about this… A few years ago, I attended a Dramatists’ Guild talk dealing with this exact issue, packaged as a way for playwrights to make a living in between productions, and a good one at that.
It’s troubling though that it’s now showing up in places like the Journal. Though it’s a sad reality that playwrights aren’t paid as well as some of their counterparts, articles like this make it sound okay, because they can moonlight — instead of trying to figure out why there’s this disparity and closing the gap.
And, as pointed out in the article, TV might be benefiting from the influx of playwrights writing for TV, theatre might not be benefit in the same way.
Theatre is a different animal… It’s about dialogue and character development. It’s also about encapsulating a story to bring out the most dramatic elements of that story. More than anything, it’s all about the WORDS and SOUNDS.
TV is about visuals, locations, and telling a good story, but we get to know characters over seasons, and so the way stories are told are just different.
I remember very well when I was workshopping a play a few years ago, when I was relying on stage directions. I was told by an actress, “In theatre, you can’t control what people are looking at, no matter how good the picture you’re painting on stage. They’re not staring at a screen, it’s live… and you don’t have any control when it’s live. The audience could be looking at their hands, their feet, the ceiling… you need to make sure the words are there so they hear them.”
It was some of the best (play)writing advice I’ve ever heard.
I’m all for people being multi-talented, and for artists being paid well for their work, but suggesting that one can jump willy-nilly between one discipline and the next is irresponsible.
–Sue
February 26th, 2010
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