{{short description|American actress|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Infobox person | name = Madison Ferris | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_place = Pennsylvania, U.S. | alma_mater = Muhlenberg College | occupation = Actress, voice over artist, dancer | years_active = 2014–present | known_for = The Glass Menagerie 2017 Revival }} '''Madison Ferris''' is an American actress, best known for portraying Laura Wingfield in ''The Glass Menagerie.''
Ferris moved to New York City, and got her first professional performance opportunity as a paid dancer at the Joyce Theater.<ref name="People">{{cite news|last1=Quinn|first1=Dave|title=Breaking Boundaries on Broadway! Meet Glass Menagerie Star Madison Ferris|url=http://people.com/theater/meet-glass-menagerie-star-madison-ferris/|access-date=2 August 2017|work=People.com|publisher=People|date=23 March 2017}}</ref> Ferris performed in two dance pieces, ''Ballet (New York)'' and ''The Show Must Go On'' by French choreographer Jerome Bel.<ref name="Mcall" /><ref name="NewMobility">{{cite news|last1=McBride|first1=Seth|title=New Production of "The Glass Menagerie" Stars Wheelchair User Madison Ferris - New Mobility|url=http://www.newmobility.com/2017/03/glass-menagerie-madison-ferris/|access-date=2 August 2017|work=www.newmobility.com|publisher=New Mobility|date=March 9, 2017}}</ref>
Ferris has Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy and was the first wheelchair user to play a lead on Broadway.<ref name="NBCNightlyNews" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Community Profiles: Actress Madison Ferris |url=https://audioboom.com/posts/8156539-community-profiles-actress-madison-ferris |access-date=2024-02-21 |website=Audioboom |language=en}}</ref>
==''The Glass Menagerie''== Ferris was traveling in Australia when the casting notice for Sam Gold's revival of ''The Glass Menagerie'' was announced.<ref name="People" /> Ferris flew back to the US for a callback, then was asked back again to read with the play's star, Sally Field.<ref name="Mcall">{{cite news |last1=Peterson |first1=Margie |date=April 14, 2017 |title=Muhlenberg College grad makes Broadway history in 'The Glass Menagerie' |url=http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/arts/mc-madison-ferris-glass-menagerie-wheelchair-sally-field-20170415-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810204926/https://www.mcall.com/entertainment/arts/mc-madison-ferris-glass-menagerie-wheelchair-sally-field-20170415-story.html |archive-date=10 August 2018 |access-date=2 August 2017 |work=themorningcall.com |publisher=The Morning Call}}</ref> A short time after, Ferris was cast in the role of Laura Wingfield.
Ferris made history as Broadway's first lead actor in a wheelchair.<ref name="NBCNightlyNews">{{cite news|last1=NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt|title=Actress Breaking Barriers as Broadway's First Lead Actor in Wheelchair|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/actress-breaking-barriers-as-broadway-s-first-lead-actor-in-wheelchair-949892675524|access-date=2 August 2017|work=NBC News|date=May 21, 2017|language=en}}</ref> The show opened with the house lights on as Amanda slowly brought Laura up the steps to the stage, right in front of the audience.<ref name="DailyBeast">{{cite news|last1=Teeman|first1=Tim|title=Review: A Radical and Shattering 'Glass Menagerie,' Starring Sally Field, Storms Broadway|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/review-a-radical-and-shattering-glass-menagerie-starring-sally-field-storms-broadway|access-date=2 August 2017|work=The Daily Beast|publisher=The Daily Beast Company|date=10 March 2017}}</ref> In discussing how she gave Laura agency, Ferris says, {{blockquote| "We discussed how to make her human, and how to make her a subject of the play rather than an object...We wanted her to be strong; we wanted her to have a voice, to have opinions, to love her family, to want to hang out with Jim O'Connor."<ref name="Buzzfeed">{{cite news|last1=Peitzman|first1=Louis|title=Meet The Actor With A Disability Who Is Helping To Transform A Classic Play|url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/how-an-actor-with-a-disability-is-helping-to-transform-a|access-date=2 August 2017|work=BuzzFeed|date=April 17, 2017}}</ref> }}
== References == {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name}} *{{IBDB name}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Madison}} Category:Actresses from Pennsylvania Category:Muhlenberg College alumni Category:Living people Category:American stage actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:1992 births Category:People with muscular dystrophy Category:American actors with disabilities