You can quibble about some of the details in the new Venice Theatre production, but there’s no denying the enduring power of William Gibson’s “The Miracle Worker.”
Alexia King, center, as Helen Keller, torments a friend (played by Logan Schultz) while family members look on in "The Miracle Worker" at Venice Theatre. Renee McVety Photo/Provided by Venice Theatre
It is the inspiring story of how an inexperienced teacher named Annie Sullivan helped a young deaf, blind and mute girl named Helen Keller learn to communicate with her family and the rest of the world.
There are other characters on stage, but the heart of the play is the tense, physically combative relationship between Corinne C. Woodland as Annie and Alexia King as the 6-year-old Helen.
The girl, who lost her sight and hearing due to an illness as an infant in Alabama in the 1880s, is coddled by her family. They give in to her tantrums with hugs and treats to help bring some calm back to the otherwise civilized life in the home of Captain Keller, a newspaper publisher, his second wife, Kate, and his grown and resentful son James.
The family spends a long time debating what is best for Helen and their own sanity before arranging for Annie to become a governess. At 20, Annie is a nervous wreck as she begins her first job, but she isn’t afraid to stand up to the demanding and stalwart Keller and his overprotective family.
Corinne C. Woodland, left, as teacher Annie Sullivan and Alexia King as her student Helen Keller in a scene from the Venice Theatre production of "The Miracle Worker." Renee McVety Photo/Provided by Venice Theatre
She knows that Helen needs some discipline, punishment for bad behavior instead of rewards. And then she can work on helping her to understand the words she constantly spells into the young girl’s hands.
“Obedience is the gateway through which knowledge enters the mind of a child,” she tells them.
Woodland and the 10-year-old King have a strong connection on stage. You can see how King’s Helen is eager to connect, but she’s so lost in her own world, unable to communicate, that she lashes out for attention.
The always youthful and spirited Woodland brings her own sense of command and determination to her role as Annie tries everything she can think of to reach Helen. In one famous scene, they battle around a dinner table but making remarkable strides. King makes us realize how much Helen wants to learn.
Their scenes together provide the heart and backbone of Kelly Wynn Woodland’s involving production, which is staged on an attractive, multi-level set by Tim Wisgerhof that allows the action to keep moving for the most part, and with David Castaneda’s lighting creating some visual treats between scenes.
The cast includes Michael Campbell as the stern Captain Keller (who eventually reveals a little heart), Cheryl Andrews as his nervous and anxious wife, Patrick Tancey as his son, and Peg Harvey as the meddling Aunt Ev. They’re all costumed with some luxurious looking clothes designed by Nicholas Hartman that reveal the family’s financial status.
From left, Alexia King, Corinne C. Woodland, Cheryl Andrews, Patrick Tancey and Michael Campbell during a disrupted dinner at the home of Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" at Venice Theatre. Renee McVety Photo/Provided by Venice Theatre
While Gibson’s formal-styled script doesn’t allow for much leeway, the actors don’t always do much to make their characters more than types, though there are a few moments when we get to see a bit of heart amid their ill-informed and suspicious views of Annie’s methods.
Kelly Woodland has made some curious choices in the way each act ends. They seem to continue even when they actually end. But she does bring a soul to the production that reminds us, through the story of Helen Keller, of the power of the human spirit.
THEATER REVIEW
THE MIRACLE WORKER
By William Gibson. Directed by Kelly Wynn Woodland. Reviewed May 5, Venice Theatre, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. Through May 24. Tickets are $28, $13-$15 for students. For more information: 488-1115; venicestage.com
