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

[Bob Abelman]

GLTG can't make miracle from 'Worker'

 

Bob Abelman

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

Member, International Association of Theatre Critics 

 

This review appeared in the News-Herald 2/18/11

 

William Gibson's play The Miracle Worker was never really meant for the stage.

 

Set in 1887, the dramatic, biographical story of the first turbulent weeks of Annie Sullivan's tutelage of the blind, deaf and mute Helen Keller was first told as a made-for-television production for CBS's Playhouse 90 in 1957.  

 

Creative camera placement and an abundance of close ups compensated for a poorly constructed narrative that unfolded in different locations in and around the Keller's Alabama home and a preponderance of scenes set in silence.  Later film adaptations did the same.

 

The awkward play and its unwieldy staging were harshly criticized during the 1959 Broadway production of The Miracle Worker.  Attempting to bypass the play's inherent problems, a 2001 revival was performed in the round and had set pieces popping up from the floor and airdropped from the ceiling.  It, too, fared poorly.    

 

What got high marks in both of these productions were the performances of the actors playing the two meaty roles of Annie and Helen.  The same holds true for the Geauga Lyric Theater Guild production of The Miracle Worker, currently being performed on the Geauga Theater stage. 

 

Helen is played by vibrant, petite college student Stephanie Kilper, who takes risks in her portrayal that pay off beautifully.  In addition to her feral behavior and constantly flailing arms that grasp for things she knows she wants but can't express, Kilper reveals a trapped and frustrated intelligence.  It is this that drives the drama in the play, makes us care about rather than merely feel sorry for Helen, and keeps us intrigued and attentive throughout the production. 

 

Stefani Rose, as Annie, musters and sustains the dogged determination and appealing feistiness that defines this character.  Her physical encounters with Helen, particularly in the scene where Annie first attempts to teach Helen basic table manners, are absolutely wonderful.  Less wonderful is her handling of Annie's dramatic declarations of purpose, which are delivered as if they were Hamlet soliloquies to be played to the balconies.  

 

The overall fine performances turned in by these two are, unfortunately, diluted by less skilled players in the other roles, although Tom Majercik, Sr. and Kate Wright do well as Helen's parents.  

 

Even more unfortunate is that Kilper and Rose's performances are frequently obscured by director Lisa-Marie French and scenic designer Sean Thompson's inability to find viable solutions for the play's inherent staginess.

 

Defining moments, such as Annie and Helen's "getting to know you" scene where the two establish the parameters of their intimate war of wills, is less effective because it is staged far from the audience.   

 

Actors find themselves performing right next to or behind clearly visible stagehands moving set pieces, with their backs toward the audience, or delivering dialogue in darkness on poorly lit portions of the stage.  In the program note, French writes that this play is not so much about Helen Keller as it is about "another amazing woman who stood in her shadow."   The actress actually does in this production.

 

Also, contrived elements in the script, such as when Annie is haunted by memories of her little brother while they were orphan inmates in an asylum, are rendered even more contrived by poorly executed voiceovers.

 

All of these things detract from the storytelling and keep the big, wondrous climax of the play-Helen's sudden comprehension of language-from being the emotional release it was intended to be.  The ensemble suddenly appearing out of nowhere, en mass, to bear witness to this miraculous event moments before the event actually occurs does not help matters.

 

There are reasons why there have not been many productions of this play on the local stage.  

 

They are the same reasons why the recent Broadway revival closed after only 38 performances.     

 

The GLTG took a chance in 2008 when it decided to offer classic but potentially less popular dramas to complement its schedule of comedies and musicals.  Although The Miracle Worker was not the best choice, it is admirable that the GLTG gave it a shot.  

 

The Miracle Worker continues through February 27 (8pm Friday and Saturday, 2pm Sunday) at the Geauga Theater, 101 Water Street, Chardon.  For tickets, which are $13 to $15, call 440-286-2255 or visit www.geuagatheater.org.
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