The Miracle Worker at The Western Stage

The Western Stage is proud to open their 45th season with The Miracle Worker, the story of young Helen Keller, rendered blind, deaf, and mute from illness, and unable to communicate. Through persistence, love, and sheer stubbornness, tutor Annie Sullivan breaks through the silence and darkness that surround Helen, bringing the world to her once again.

Based on Helen Kellers 20th Century autobiography, The Story of My Life, William Gibsons play takes place in the late 1880s in Tuscumbia, Alabama. An illness renders infant Helen Keller blind, deaf, and consequently mute. Pitied and badly spoiled by her parents, Helen is taught no discipline and, by the age of six, grows into a wild, angry, tantrum-throwing child in control of the household. Desperate, the Kellers hire Annie Sullivan to serve as governess and teacher for their daughter. After several fierce battles with Helen, Annie convinces the Kellers that she needs two weeks alone with Helen in order to achieve any progress in the girl's education. In that time, Annie teaches Helen discipline through persistence and consistency, and language through hand signals; a double breakthrough that changes Helen's life and has a direct effect on the lives of everyone in the family. Language is exalted as the miracle maker for Helen Keller, bridging the void between oblivion and understanding.

Language is to the mind more than light is to the eye, Annie quotes from her mentor. Yet, for The Miracle Worker, the play is most effective when it is wordless. For the 13 year old actor playing Helen Keller (Colette Gsell), it is a formidable endeavor to portray the gradual and complex discovery of language without uttering a single line. Equally formidable a role is her tenacious teacher, Annie Sullivan, played by Chelsea Simmons, who relentlessly spars with Helen, knowing her pupil cannot see, hear, or understand her.

Thoughts from the Director: The story of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan is an iconic tale woven into the fabric of our American identity. In many ways, it embodies the best of what we as a nation and we as a united people should strive for: perseverance, tolerance, acceptance, equality, and the belief that through unbridled optimism, we can leap boldly and courageously into the unknown in order to push the boundaries of what we once considered attainablethat through determination and sheer will we can better level the playing field in an often unequal society.My hope in re-staging the iconic tale of these remarkable young women is two-fold: first, to remind us all that Helens story is universal. We all have a voicea needinside of us aching to be understood, and if we surrender ourselves to the grace of others, that voice will be heard. Secondly, I hope that our audiences leave the theatre illuminated by one simple, transformative fact: that we are the authors of the miracles we seek, and once we accept thatonce we open our minds and feel with our heartsanything is possible. Justin Gordon, Director of TWS The Miracle Worker

Authors

• William Gibson