Abigail Breslin and Alison Pill
(photo: Joan Marcus)
They are calling it the 50th anniversary, but it was in 1959 that The Miracle Worker opened on Broadway to great acclaim and success. Call it what you like, but this current and very fine production at the Circle in the Square is the first major Broadway revival of William Gibson’s play about 20 year-old governess Annie Sullivan and her student Helen Keller, the deaf and blind child destined for renown and greatness. If the play has never been an easy one to cast and stage, a splendid production was presented at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2008 proving how stirring it can be. It was interesting to re-visit the play so soon. The proof is that it still has the power to grip and hold the attention of an audience, particularly a family audience. The Miracle Worker makes a wonderful alternative to musicals for a family.
The audience’s appreciation for the dramatic integrity that pervaded every scene was palpable. Despite the large number of youngsters present, you could hear a pin drop. Staging a play in the round is virtually obligatory for this theater. The real challenge is the blocking of the action and the changing of scenes. Some of this proves problematic but does not seriously undermine a thoroughly engrossing theatrical experience.
The first thing that the audience sees as it enters the theater is the Victorian set pieces that are hanging quite artistically by wires in a cluster from the ceiling giving the impression of an immense, if abstract, chandelier, notice the surrounding lace doily. Pieces are lowered and raised with grace to create the various locations, most of which are in and around the Keller homestead in Tuscumbia, Alabama in the 1880s. Set designer Derek McLane is to be commended for his clever design.
Surely as much a director’s play as it is a field day for the actors, director Kate Whoriskey is as firmly in control of the emotional dynamics. Whoriskey, who most recently directed the MTC and Goodman Theatre’s acclaimed co-production of Lynn Nottage’s Ruined, has rightly stressed the importance of the play’s highly focused dramatic lens. More importantly, she has assembled a cast that is giving us finely detailed portraits of characters that deservedly command only the deepest involvement.
Alison Pill, who always constructs an awesome portrayal (Mauritius, reasons to be pretty, Blackbird) is uniquely captivating as Sullivan, the formidable 20 year-old conveyor of impassioned determination. Pill seems energized by the deliberate toughness that drives Annie even behind those small round dark prescription glasses. How gratifying it is to see how accomplished Abigail Breslin is in her Broadway debut. Notwithstanding her memorable film performances (Little Miss Sunshine among others), Breslin is firmly committed to making Helen’s incorrigible behavior particularly fearsome. The fits Helen throws with her family and her ferocious fights with Sullivan are rigorously executed and give the illusion they are free of artifice.
We know that Sullivan was handicapped by poor vision and with re-occurring visions that recall the death of her brother and of growing up in an institution. The play allows us to briefly see her as she leaves her apprenticeship with Doctor Anagnos (Daniel Oreskes) at the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston. Anagnos has recommended her to the Keller family. However, the heart of the play focuses on Sullivan as a companion and teacher for Helen. That we know the positive outcome of the play doesn't stop it from being involving. Helen's progress and retreats are effectively contained within the frame of a conflicted but concerned family setting.
The difficulties and obstacles that Sullivan has to overcome in her struggle to break through Helen's impaired senses create many moments of excellent drama. It is to Gibson's credit that the play and characters are never perceived as maudlin or sappy. Sullivan’s mission is essentially an inspiring one.
Outstanding among the supporting players is Matthew Modine, as the bellowing, stiff-necked, autocratic, he-who-must-be-obeyed-but-usually-isn’t Captain Keller. It’s hard to believe that Modine, a veteran of more than 50 films, is making his Broadway debut. Jennifer Morrison is sweet and lovely as the ever-hopeful and patient Kate Heller. Elizabeth Franz brings her endearingly familiar theatricality to the role of the impatient Aunt Ev. Also making his mark on the proceedings is Tobias Segal, as the testy volatile son James. Michael Cummings, Yvette Ganier and Simone Joy Jones make good impressions as the Keller family servants.
The Miracle Worker
Circle in the Square, Broadway and W. 50th Street
For tickets ($117.00; $202.00 premium seats) call (212) 239 - 6200