The Miracle Worker
by William Gibson
directed by Nick Olcott
starring Kelly C. McAndrew and Shira Grabelsky

 

March 10 through April 30
The Fichandler Stage, Arena Stage
1101 Sixth Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024
Box Office 202-488-3300

 The Miracle Worker is a Credit to the Monumental Story

by Shirley J. Gregory

  The Miracle Worker recounts the enduring tale of Helen Keller and her courageous teacher Annie Sullivan, herself, once blind. Helen Keller became deaf and blind due to illness as an infant.  By the time, Helen is six years old, her family in unable to discipline her.  Desperate, the family sends a teacher to reach into Helen’s dark world. 

Annie is headstrong and quickly takes to using force to teach Helen societal basics, such as table manners.  However, this is not Annie’s primary goal.  The greatest struggle is to give Helen the key to the world, the power of language.  Helen’s miraculous breakthrough comes when she finally understands that everything has a name.  Now, Helen, no longer cut off from the world will be able to communicate and comprehend the world.  Occurring during the first half of the 20th century, Annie’s breakthrough changed how the world treated the deaf and blind.  The story of Annie and Helen is indeed one of the most monumental stories ever told.

The company succeeds in transporting the audience into the struggle between the remarkably courageous and stubborn Annie and her equally stubborn student.   This makes The Miracle Worker a most extraordinary production. We can feel both their pain; Annie wanting to communicate with her young charge, and Helen, who feels mistreated by this woman’s methods are so different from her indulgent family. 

  It is almost as if Annie’s entire life was preparation for the challenge of reaching this extremely bright deaf mute who might have been institutionalized if not for her.  At age eight, Annie and her crippled brother Jimmie were orphans shuffled to a Massachusetts sanatorium.  Both were taken seriously ill, but Annie survived, losing her eyesight to the illness.  Her survivalist mentality impressed F.B. Sanborn, a rich philanthropist on the State Board of Charities, and he assisted Annie in gaining acceptance to The Perkins Institute for the Blind and Deaf.  After graduating as valedictorian of her class in 1886, Annie intuitively adapted Dr. Samuel Howe and Dr. Michael Anagnos’ standard methods of educating the blind and deaf to successfully teach Helen Keller – her first and only pupil. 

Even more than the miracle of reaching the child’s mind and heart, Annie showed the world that disabled persons could make valuable contributors to the world. This happened during a period of history where people primarily shut disabled persons away due to feelings of shame.  She kept meticulous records of her process, giving insight into teaching the disabled that elevated the status of the handicapped around the world.

A near-fatal illness at 19 months deprived Helen of her hearing and sight.  Throughout her childhood, she could not communicate beyond a few gestures and frustrated screaming.  Annie patiently taught Helen to fingerspell.  This unlocked Helen’s mind with the gift of language.  Helen learned to write, type, manually read lips and Braille, and, eventually, earned a degree from Radcliff College.

Later Helen traveled around the world passionately lecturing and advocating issues dear to her – pacifism, socialism, anti-racism, woman’s rights, and the rights of the deaf and blind.  Her literary accomplishments include Journal, Midstream:  My Later Life, My Religion, the Story of My Life, Teacher:  Anne Sullivan Macy, and The World I Live In. 

Shira Grabelsky makes her theatrical debut as Helen.  She is currently a freshman at The George Washington University.  Grabelsky’s portrayal of the mannerisms of a six-year-old is flawless.  Add to that the behavior of a terribly spoiled, out-of-control deaf mute six-year-old, and Grabelsky gives an extraordinary performance.

  Kelly C. McAndrew makes her Arena Stage debut as Annie.  McAndrew’s portrayal gives Annie a powerful and energetic persona, a character of fire and dedication in her devotion to the power of language. The performance is not only believable, but it is also intense and mesmerizing.  Annie is sharp-tongued and blunt, unwilling to pity her young charge.  At the same time she is dedicated to approaching her task objectively, an approach now called “hard love.”  This approach looked like cruelty to Helen’s family, but Annie persisted in forcing her will on Helen, even if the battle became a physical one.  In the scene where Annie tries to teach Helen table manners, the audience is just as tense and exhausted as the characters as each is intent on having her own way. 

  An interesting innovation for this production of The Miracle Worker is the Chorus of Witnesses.  Eight “witnesses,” four men and four women comprise the Chorus of Witnesses.  The company also includes extras in some scenes, or small parts, positioned on the floor around the raised stage.  Most of the time, the chorus reacts to scenes on the stage that primarily feature Annie and/or Helen.  In addition, sometimes the Chorus turns to the audience and uses The American Sign Language to sign what the characters say on stage. 

Fred Grandy, who plays Captain Keller, Helen’s father, is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of Goodwill Industries International.  This organization is one of America’s largest not-for-profit organizations serving persons with disabilities.  He is also a member of the President’s Committee on Employment for Persons with Disabilities, which oversees the Americans with Disabilities Act.  As an actor, Mr. Grandy is best known for his role on the long-running TV series, The Love Boat.  From 1987 to 1995, Grandy served in the United States House of Representatives as a member of Congress.

Samarra Mbenga, as Helen’s mother Kate, is also making her Arena Stage debut in this play.  Her portrayal was empathetic and moving as the mother believing in a miracle for her child against all opposition.

  This production of The Miracle Worker is larger than the stage.  It is a powerful retelling of the “monumental” story, as the New York Times called the Broadway debut in 1959.  It is a credit to the legacy of “… one of the greatest stories ever told.”

  The Miracle Worker will be performed Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays at 7:30 PM; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM; with Saturday matinees at 2:30 PM, Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM, and selected Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday matinees at 12:00 noon.  Discounted tickets are available for students, groups, persons with disabilities and senior citizens.  All performances of The Miracle Worker will be accessible to deaf patrons through the interpretation of the Chorus of Witnesses. Further information is alos at http://arenastage.org/