NFLT fall production - The Miracle Worker

Carol Belanger | Aug 19, 2015

“The Miracle Worker” is an ‘interesting, absorbing and moving’ play, says the NY Post. It is also an intense and emotional drama about family dynamics and the unique challenges associated with raising a sensory-deprived child. In this case, the child became the famous Helen Keller, who eventually graduated, tirelessly and successfully promoted schooling and training for the blind worldwide, and befriended many persons of influence along the way. However, in her early life it was far from easy to imagine these results, when as a child, she lacked discipline, understanding, and three main senses - seeing, hearing and speaking. Enter Annie Sullivan, a seeing-impaired person herself who underwent multiple eye operations, not before, however, she lived a destitute life with her critically ill brother in a state institution for the poor. Her fear-based yet tough-as-nails approach earns her a hard-won place among the proprietary family of Helen at their Southern home in Alabama. With widely differing opinions on the raising of Helen, family dissension is strong, and many strong exchanges take place as a result.

It is a fantastically crafted play of a segment of these real lives, set in the 1880s, just after the American Civil War whose own theme juxtaposes nicely with the tumultuous family dynamics. The timelessness of family values and the needs for change, growth and expression can be related to by all. The North Frontenac Little Theatre's production of The Miracle Worker will be performed the last two weekends of November. www.nflt.ca