Miss-Delectable
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http://www.timesdispatch.com/servle...&cid=1137833728536&path=!news&s=1045855934842
William Gibson's 1959 "The Miracle Worker" is a well-made play, filled with the drama inherent in the awakening of the soul of 6-year-old Helen Keller, blind and deaf after suffering a severe fever in babyhood.
And it is well-chosen as the first of Swift Creek Mill Theatre's two entries in the current Acts of Faith Festival, because it clearly shows the elements of faith and dedication needed to bring about a miracle.
Set in the 1880s, mainly at the comfortable Keller home in Alabama, the play opens with baby Helen's mother discovering with horror that her daughter can no longer see or hear.
Kate Keller is the young second wife of Arthur Keller, a Confederate veteran who runs the local newspaper. Captain Keller is used to getting his way, but his daughter is an untamed creature, locked in silence and darkness. Because her parents love and pity her, they indulge her and allow her to terrorize the household, leaving chaos in her wake.
No such soft-headed attitude is allowed by the steel-ribbed governess they finally engage for her.
Annie Sullivan is their last hope. Trained in Massachusetts by a doctor who had some success in working with deaf-blind patients, Annie has had multiple surgeries to partially restore her own sight.
And she has undergone a harrowing childhood, institutionalized in an unenlightened age, responsible for a younger brother whose death haunts her. She cannot fail in her task of reaching Helen, because she believes it is the only chance for her own redemption.
Tom Width has directed a marvelous, perfectly tuned production, with a gifted young actress, Gracie Mincks, as Helen. (She alternates in the role with Mackenzie Newman.) Mincks is full of the miserable, unbridled energy of the lost girl in an unending tantrum.
As Annie, Audra Honaker gives a tightly wound, carefully modulated performance that is distinguished by the shocking breaks into violence required to get through to Helen. Honaker speaks low and quickly with a hint of a brogue, making clear both her own desperation to succeed and her demanding standards for Helen, for Helen's family, for herself and for God.
She senses Helen's intelligence immediately. It's not enough for Annie that Helen merely learn to behave; "Obedience without understanding is a blindness, too," she says.
Width himself plays Arthur Keller with a toughness that belies the character's soft center, and Lisa Kotula and Brett Ambler turn in strong supporting performances as Helen's mother and elder half brother, respectively. Width further contributes a well-conceived set design, and there are fine period costumes by Maura Lynch Cravey.
William Gibson's 1959 "The Miracle Worker" is a well-made play, filled with the drama inherent in the awakening of the soul of 6-year-old Helen Keller, blind and deaf after suffering a severe fever in babyhood.
And it is well-chosen as the first of Swift Creek Mill Theatre's two entries in the current Acts of Faith Festival, because it clearly shows the elements of faith and dedication needed to bring about a miracle.
Set in the 1880s, mainly at the comfortable Keller home in Alabama, the play opens with baby Helen's mother discovering with horror that her daughter can no longer see or hear.
Kate Keller is the young second wife of Arthur Keller, a Confederate veteran who runs the local newspaper. Captain Keller is used to getting his way, but his daughter is an untamed creature, locked in silence and darkness. Because her parents love and pity her, they indulge her and allow her to terrorize the household, leaving chaos in her wake.
No such soft-headed attitude is allowed by the steel-ribbed governess they finally engage for her.
Annie Sullivan is their last hope. Trained in Massachusetts by a doctor who had some success in working with deaf-blind patients, Annie has had multiple surgeries to partially restore her own sight.
And she has undergone a harrowing childhood, institutionalized in an unenlightened age, responsible for a younger brother whose death haunts her. She cannot fail in her task of reaching Helen, because she believes it is the only chance for her own redemption.
Tom Width has directed a marvelous, perfectly tuned production, with a gifted young actress, Gracie Mincks, as Helen. (She alternates in the role with Mackenzie Newman.) Mincks is full of the miserable, unbridled energy of the lost girl in an unending tantrum.
As Annie, Audra Honaker gives a tightly wound, carefully modulated performance that is distinguished by the shocking breaks into violence required to get through to Helen. Honaker speaks low and quickly with a hint of a brogue, making clear both her own desperation to succeed and her demanding standards for Helen, for Helen's family, for herself and for God.
She senses Helen's intelligence immediately. It's not enough for Annie that Helen merely learn to behave; "Obedience without understanding is a blindness, too," she says.
Width himself plays Arthur Keller with a toughness that belies the character's soft center, and Lisa Kotula and Brett Ambler turn in strong supporting performances as Helen's mother and elder half brother, respectively. Width further contributes a well-conceived set design, and there are fine period costumes by Maura Lynch Cravey.