Patty Duke shot to fame at the tender age of 12 with her portrayal of Helen Keller in the 1959 Broadway production of William Gibson’s The Miracle Worker, and then winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for recreating the role in the 1962 film version. Now, five decades later, the beloved star is revisiting the show — as director of the Spokane, Washington-based Interplayers Professional Theatre’s current production. TheaterMania recently spoke to Duke about the show, her children, her role in Wicked, and her future career plans.
THEATERMANIA: How did this gig — your first directing job — come about?
PATTY DUKE: Reed McCollum, the artistic director of Interplayers, is a longtime friend of mine. We both love this theater, which like so many is flailing due to the economy, and we were allegedly brainstorming about how to help and I made a joke about directing The Miracle Worker. His eyes lit up and it just went from there, and now we’re doing this run as a benefit and hoping to raise money.
TM: Was it hard to find the two young women, Sophia Caruso and Sarah Dennison, who are playing Helen and Annie?
PD: No. What a talent pool in we have in the northwest. There wasn’t anyone everyone who wasn’t good. It came down to the physical. I don’t know what I expected. But I did not expect the quality and professionalism I saw during the auditions.
TM: What were the early rehearsals like?
PD: , I told people at the first read-though: “I have been associated with this play for a long time, and as I see my job, I have already done 90 percent by casting each of you. The rest of my job is to stay out of way.” And then, first time the two women finished doing the fight scene I had tears, goosebumps, chills – you name it. I said to them, “I think we have a show!”
TM: Did you ask the cast if they had seen the movie?
PD: It never occurred to ask; I think maybe I had a haughty assumption that everyone has seen the movie. I left found out Sarah has purposely avoided seeing the movie, and while I think Sophie has watched it, she is very definitely giving her own performance. I keep reminding them – and myself – that this is our production, not a redo of someone else’s.
TM: Did you use any of the same directions that Arthur Penn gave you on Broadway?
PD: Yes, and I remember it as if he gave it to my five minutes ago. When we were staging “the wawa moment,” and Arthur turned to me and said “Have you ever been constipated? That’s the sound I want.” I had such a crush on Arthur – I thought I would die on the spot. But a few days into our rehearsals, I gave the same note to Sophia, and she instantly turned beet red. But then we went through the scene and she did it, and it worked. It was chilling.
TM: Has this gig made you want to do more directing?
PD: Yes. I am really liking it. There’s something borderline mystical about giving a note or suggestion, and then seeing it come back..
TM: How would you compare directing to being a mother?
PD: I hate to admit it, but I am a better director than I am a mother, because I am far less judgmental with actors than I am with my own kids;. I also found that with actors, I feel like the information I am trying to impart is clearer to me and clearer to them..
TM: Your sons, Sean and Mackenzie, both became actors. Are you pleased they followed you in acting?
PD: I am, because they put so much into it and get so much out of it, and they’re both so good at it. Mackenzie — who just got married — is playing a gay man in this show Caught, and if he wasn’t my own son, I would have bet the few shekels I have that he really is gay. Of course, I get concerned because acting is a tough profession, but I know they’re going to be successful and make enough money to live. It’s also great that they both have other interests. It took me years and years to have other interests than acting.
TM: Your last onstage gig was the San Francisco production of Wicked, where you played Madame Morrible. Was that fun?
PD: I loved being in Wicked and I loved how all those kids were transported every night. But it was very tiring. Some of those costumes weigh in the neighborhood of 50 pounds. I don’t weigh that much.
TM: Would you come back to the stage?
PD: Absolutely. I would consider the right role on stage or TV or film or even viral videos, but no one is knocking down my door. I’d like to try my hand at August: Osage County. Trust me, I could be as mean as Violet. I’d also love to do a stage comedy before I croak; there’s nothing as invigorating as having a whole audience of people laugh.
TM: Are there any other roles on your wish list?
PD: For 25 years, I’ve wanted to do a film version of this book called La Popessa, which is about a nun who some people believe ran the Vatican during the reign of Pius X, but it’s been too expensive to get it done. And I have been dabbling with the idea of a one-woman show, which would be from the point of view of my mother. According to my family, I do an impeccable impression of her New York accent. People keep suggesting I write it, but every time I try, I become the dullest person I ever met.
For tickets to The Miracle Worker, click here.
