"The unplanned organism is a question asked by Nature and answered by Death. You are another kind of question, with another kind of answer." -Morpheus

 

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to see the advanced viewing of The Miracle Worker at the Circle in the Square Theater.  Originally, I had this pre conceived notion that the play would be boring.  Prior to walking in the theater I grabbed a B I G cup of coffee to in hopes that I wouldn’t nod off during the performance.  Ok, so sue me… I had no clue who Helen Keller was, let alone the knowledge that this was a true story.  Besides walking in thinking the play would be boring, I was pretty much a blank slate.

 

The Miracle Worker is about a child who is not only blind, but deaf. The child is spoiled rotten and in need of a good beating!  The parents are enablers, and the brother is in the closet trying to emerge as a suave butterfly.  The brother used Helen Keller’s handicap (and impromptu temper tantrums) as a way of trying to get his parents to open their eyes and see the bigger picture.  All though he defended Helen, he was desperately trying to prepare his parents for the inevitable…. “His Inner Queen”.   He never came out… but at least Helen was able to communicate the letters of the alphabet.  Note: The brother never verbalized that he liked boys… but I felt his inner struggle.

I found the play very entertaining… surprisingly!  Like, I didn’t doze off not once.  I even laughed a couple of times.  Now, I don’t want you guys thinking I was biased… this was my first Broadway play…. So I was a little excited.  Like, I felt like an official New Yorker that night.  So, I urge everyone to go see it.  Not because I was excited, but because all the actors gave a great performance.

 

All Cast
Sandra Daley	….	Viney (Understudy)
Aru Banks	….	Martha (Understudy)
	….	Percy (Understudy)
Abigail Breslin	….	Helen Keller
Lance Chantiles-Wertz	….	Jimmie
Bill Christ	….	Anagnos (Understudy)
	….	Captain Keller (Understudy)
	….	Doctor (Understudy)
Michael Cummings	….	Percy
Elizabeth Franz	….	Aunt Ev
Yvette Ganier	….	Viney
Simone Joy Jones	….	Martha
Katrina Lenk	….	Annie Sullivan (Understudy)
	….	Kate Keller (Understudy)
Matthew Modine	….	Captain Keller
Jennifer Morrison	….	Kate Keller
Daniel Oreskes	….	Doctor
	….	Anagnos
Alison Pill	….	Annie Sullivan
Anthony Scarpone-Lambert	….	Jimmie (Understudy)
Tobias Segal	….	James Keller
Kyra Ynez Siegel	….	Helen Keller (Understudy)

"The unplanned organism is a question asked by Nature and answered by Death. You are another kind of question, with another kind of answer." -Morpheus

I don’t know…. hmmm she did an ok job. She didn’t over do it.. but at least she proved she could actually sing. I think they are different levels of vocal range, and of course she is no Stephanie Mills… but she is no Macy Grey either. I think over time she will get better.

Ashanti (Native New Yorker) will be performing the roll of Dorothy for a three-week limited engagement. The Wiz will June 12 – July 5 at New York City Center (W. 55th Street between 6th & 7th Avenues). Tickets range from $25 – $110 and are available at the New York City Center Box Office (West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues), through CityTix® at 212-581-1212, or online at www.nycitycenter.org.