(Courtesy Library of Congress) This past weekend, I made a familiar trek with my roommate to her hometown of Tuscumbia, Alabama, to spend a lazy weekend on the river and eat some home-cooked food. Born and raised in the quaint little town, she was also excited to take me to the birthplace of another Tuscumbia native–Helen Keller–and I had the opportunity to see “The Miracle Worker,” now in its fifty-fourth year of summer performances on the historic grounds of Ivy Green.
The play, which is based on Keller’s own autobiography The Story of My Life, was written by William Gibson in 1957 with its opening performance being held in 1961. The part of Helen Keller was played by nine-year-old Teressa Conley, who lived in nearby Sheffield and had no previous acting experience. Conley portrayed a six-year-old Keller from June to September that summer and then earned the opportunity to revive her role for the following two summers.
This year, ten-year-old Evie Rosa Butler was cast for the first time as young Helen. Butler is the daughter of Darren Butler, who began his sixteenth year as director of the extraordinary play. Show business must run in the family because with each rehearsed expression and timed movement, Evie Butler takes the audience through Keller’s incredible journey from the time she met her teacher, Anne Sullivan, to learning her first word, a miracle that only took a little over a month to achieve. For me, having little knowledge on the background of Helen Keller, I was astounded not only by the story but also by the level of acting from her and the entire cast. It was emotional and moving to say the very least.
The production was originally put on directly behind the main house where the play’s events took place 128 years ago, complete with the authentic water pump where Helen learned to spell “water” to Ms. Sullivan. An amphitheater was later built in the backyard of Ivy Green, and a new stage was constructed for this year’s shows. It is raised for better viewing, and the layout now more accurately represents the historic house.
Live action scenes of a young Anne Sullivan and her brother, Jimmie, as they lived in Tewksbury Hospital among the sick and mentally ill were also added this season. These sections were previously played as audio recordings, but with the new stage, a separate room was built and covered in black cloth to visualize these flashbacks for the audience.
But even as the cast changes, the set is modified, and the production evolves, I think the reason the wonder of “The Miracle Worker” stays alive is because of the powerful piece of history it portrays. After her pivotal breakthrough at the water pump at Ivy Green, Keller went on to become the first deafblind person to graduate college. She wrote fourteen books, helped pioneer braille as the official writing system for the blind, and visited thirty-nine countries to rally for the establishment of schools for the deaf and blind. Helen Keller was and is one of the most accomplished and, well, miraculous people to ever come from Alabama. It is apparent that through this production the spirit of Helen Keller will live on for many years to come.
References:
http://www.timesdaily.com/life/the-miracle-worker/article_0f1f9912-8fc9-5859-a5fd-6f598c6e20a3.html
http://publichealthmuseum.org/about/our-history/
http://braillebug.afb.org/askkeller.asp?issueid=20076
http://www.helenkellerbirthplace.org/miracleworker/helenkellermiracleworker.htm
http://www.afb.org/annesullivan/asmgallery.asp?FrameID=72
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/06/miracle_worker.html
http://www.cullmantimes.com/community/a-great-honor/article_a9c14419-1fd7-5b49-9f6d-0701af8a21ff.html
http://www.perkins.org/about/history/helen-keller-facts
This year, ten-year-old Evie Rosa Butler was cast for the first time as young Helen. Butler is the daughter of Darren Butler, who began his sixteenth year as director of the extraordinary play. Show business must run in the family because with each rehearsed expression and timed movement, Evie Butler takes the audience through Keller’s incredible journey from the time she met her teacher, Anne Sullivan, to learning her first word, a miracle that only took a little over a month to achieve. For me, having little knowledge on the background of Helen Keller, I was astounded not only by the story but also by the level of acting from her and the entire cast. It was emotional and moving to say the very least.
The production was originally put on directly behind the main house where the play’s events took place 128 years ago, complete with the authentic water pump where Helen learned to spell “water” to Ms. Sullivan. An amphitheater was later built in the backyard of Ivy Green, and a new stage was constructed for this year’s shows. It is raised for better viewing, and the layout now more accurately represents the historic house.
Live action scenes of a young Anne Sullivan and her brother, Jimmie, as they lived in Tewksbury Hospital among the sick and mentally ill were also added this season. These sections were previously played as audio recordings, but with the new stage, a separate room was built and covered in black cloth to visualize these flashbacks for the audience.
But even as the cast changes, the set is modified, and the production evolves, I think the reason the wonder of “The Miracle Worker” stays alive is because of the powerful piece of history it portrays. After her pivotal breakthrough at the water pump at Ivy Green, Keller went on to become the first deafblind person to graduate college. She wrote fourteen books, helped pioneer braille as the official writing system for the blind, and visited thirty-nine countries to rally for the establishment of schools for the deaf and blind. Helen Keller was and is one of the most accomplished and, well, miraculous people to ever come from Alabama. It is apparent that through this production the spirit of Helen Keller will live on for many years to come.
References:
http://www.timesdaily.com/life/the-miracle-worker/article_0f1f9912-8fc9-5859-a5fd-6f598c6e20a3.html
http://publichealthmuseum.org/about/our-history/
http://braillebug.afb.org/askkeller.asp?issueid=20076
http://www.helenkellerbirthplace.org/miracleworker/helenkellermiracleworker.htm
http://www.afb.org/annesullivan/asmgallery.asp?FrameID=72
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2015/06/miracle_worker.html
http://www.cullmantimes.com/community/a-great-honor/article_a9c14419-1fd7-5b49-9f6d-0701af8a21ff.html
http://www.perkins.org/about/history/helen-keller-facts
Cara Walker is a junior at the University of Alabama, majoring in journalism and minoring in digital media. She has designed and written for Mosaic, the UA Honors College’s annual magazine, and will write for the UA Service Learning Magazine in the fall. She also serves on the Baptist Campus Ministries’ leadership team. Her favorite part of journalism is discovering people’s stories, and she loves getting to explore the stories of Alabama’s past as an intern for Alabama Heritage. In her spare time, she enjoys coffee shops, painting decorations for her apartment, and going on road trips with her best friends.
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