What Broadway play starred Patty Duke as Helen Keller?”
NEW YORK — From spunky “Little Miss Sunshine” to an even more heroic young girl. Abigail Breslin will play Helen Keller in the first Broadway revival of William Gibson’s “The Miracle Worker,” scheduled to open on March 3, producer David Richenthal announced Wednesday. Previews begin Feb. 12 at Circle in the Square Theatre. Alison Pill will portray Annie Sullivan, the determined instructor who teaches the deaf and blind Helen how to communicate. “I am so honored,” the 13-year-old Breslin said in an interview. “It’s like the biggest thing in the world. … I have read the biography of Helen Keller. So I’ve always known the story, and it’s always been something I wanted to play. “Helen is a hero of mine – for so many reasons. She never gave up on herself and she had so many people who believed in her like her teacher Annie Sullivan.” The production will be directed by Kate Whoriskey, who has extensive regional theater credits and recently was named artistic director of the Intiman Theatre
The original Broadway production of The Miracle Worker played from 19 Oct 1959 – 1 Jul 1961 at the Playhouse Theatre. That production, directed by Arthur Penn, starred Anne Bancroft as ‘Annie Sullivan’ and Patty Duke as ‘Helen Keller.’ The production won four 1960 Tony Awards: Best Play; Best Director; Best Actress in a Play (Anne Bancroft) and Best Stage Technician (John Walters). The play was made into a succesful 1962 movie – also directed by Arthur Penn and which also starried Anne Bancroft as ‘Annie Sullivan.’ and Patty Duke as ‘Helen Keller.’ The movie won two Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Anne Bancroft) and Best actress in a supporting role (Patty Duke).
