[NEohioPAL] Preview of "The Miracle Worker" at GLTG

[Bob Abelman]

'Miracle Worker' returns to the local stage

 

Bob Abelman

News-Herald, Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times Courier

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This preview appeared in the News-Herald 2/11/11

 

 

For the first 18 months of a life that began in 1880, Helen Keller was a happy, healthy and precocious infant.  "Then," as she recalled later, "came the illness which closed my eyes and ears and plunged me into unconsciousness." 

 

Her life thereafter became a triumph over adversity.  In time, and with the dedicated assistance of her teacher Annie Sullivan, Keller learned to circumvent her blindness, deafness and muteness.  She graduated from college, became a writer and national celebrity, and developed into a crusading humanitarian.

 

The dramatic story of the first turbulent weeks of Sullivan's tutelage at the Kellers' Alabama home in 1887 is the subject of William Gibson's play The Miracle Worker, on stage starting this evening at the Geauga Theater.

 

The life of the play has also had quite a journey and its share of adversity.  It began as a made-for television play for CBS's "Playhouse 90" in 1957, became a Tony Award-winning Broadway production in 1959, gained notoriety as an Oscar-winning film several years later, and was again produced for TV in 1979 and again, by Disney, in 2000.  The Miracle Worker was revived on Broadway earlier last year, only to close after 38 performances. 

 

Despite its many renderings over the years, there have not been many productions of the play on the local stage.  "The play is accurate, historical and heavy," explains Lisa-Marie French, who is directing the Geauga Lyric Theater Guild production, "which means it is difficult to stage. It requires a complicated set and there are lots of properties to create the sense of realism.  Oh, and the food fights.  However, it is well worth the while. The script is so well written."

 

The play also offers two magnificent roles for actors who dare to take on the dynamic personalities of Helen and Annie, the physicality that defined their relationship, and the legacy created by the actresses who played the roles in the original Broadway production and the film, Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke.

 

"Our two Stephanies," notes French, "are more than up for the challenge."

 

In fact, both Stephanie Kilper and Stefani Rose, as Helen and Annie, were cast early for this production so they would have nearly two months to not only learn the play but develop a sense of trust and rhythm with each other. 

 

Helen, having been pitied and undisciplined by her parents, is a wild, raging creature.  When her tantrums are met with Annie's fierce determination, a physical war of wills ensues.  "The two actors are at the point where they are free to have at it, emotionally and physically. They are magnificent," observes French. 

 

Kilper, a diminutive dance major at Lake Erie College, certainly has the training necessary to portray a character entirely through physical movement.  However, she admits that "learning to be fully present, while responding only to physical contact, has been challenging. It has also been the most rewarding lesson throughout this experience."

 

Joining Kilper and Rose, as members of the Keller family in this GLTG production, are Kate Wright as Kate Keller, Tom Majercik, Sr. as Captain Keller and Joey Giel as James.  



Details

 

What:     The Miracle Worker.

When:    Tonight through February 27 (8pm Friday and Saturday, 2pm Sunday). 

Where:   Geauga Theater, 101 Water Street, Chardon.

Tickets:   $13 to $15.

Info:        440-286-2255 or www.geuagatheater.org.

 

 
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