The Miracle Worker, a three-act play written by William Gibson in 1957, details Helen Keller’s struggle to learn to communicate despite being both deaf and blind.

This award winning play is based off of Keller’s autobiography, The Story of My Life, which provides an intimate and an accurate interpretation of the relationship between Keller and her teacher and companion, Annie Sullivan.

The play premiered on Broadway in 1959 and has run many times both on and off Broadway since its premiere. Following the play’s initial run, Gibson worked with talented screenwriters to adapt the play for film in 1963.

The film, starring Patty Duke as Keller and Anne Bancroft as Sullivan, received multiple Academy Award nominations, winning two for Best Actress for Bancroft and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Duke.

This year, Paint Branch Perspectives will try their hand at this much-heralded production. According to Perspectives’ Director Miss Perkins, she and Technical Director Ms. Ryan chose The Miracle Worker for three different reasons.

The first reason is that they wanted to challenge what is an extremely talented group of actors. Secondly, Perspectives is coming off two comedies, so it was time for a change. Miss Perkins notes that “a good drama can teach so much—to all of us, directors, actors, technicians, audience.” The third reason for the choice is that it is an extremely well-written play.

Performing such a respected and revered show comes with a unique set of challenges. Miss Perkins explains, “The biggest challenge in every rehearsal process is time…there is never enough time.”

With twenty cast members, it is difficult to get everyone there together on the same day, making the rehearsal process quite challenging. Playing the role of Annie Sullivan has posed new challenges for senior Perspective’s President Rebekah Senderling, who explains, “I’ve never had the opportunity to play a character as complex as Annie in the past, so it has been a challenge to fully portray all of the emotions she experiences throughout the course of the play.”

Playing the role of Helen Keller will be junior Missy Tucker, who says, “It’s really challenging to show emotion in the face while maintaining the illusion of blindness and not reacting to the words being said by the other characters on the stage.”

In addition to the cast of the show, the tech crew has also been working hard since the third week of school to build the two-story set that will be the Keller house. Perspectives’ Tech Director Ms. Ryan explains that the “set makes the world of the play much more entertaining and engaging.” She adds that each set “presents unique challenges, and adding a second story to the house was necessary to the script, but was definitely a tough feat to accomplish!” In addition to building the set, students in tech are responsible for other aspects including makeup, costumes, props, lighting and sound.

Come out and support the cast and crew of The Miracle Worker on November 14, 15, 20, 21, and 22 at 7:00 to see the inspiring story of Helen Keller as she overcomes the challenges of being deaf and blind with the help of her faithful companion, Annie Sullivan. You don’t want to miss this!