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Show - THURSDAY, VIEW MAGAZINE 11. DECEMBER 1997 ' . I 00 V WORDS gy .' p Most of us take them for granted. Yet without words, we cannot differentiate or "She must leam language, " insisted Sullivan, who had been blind herself. "Then she will be able to see." PTC's express ideas. Helen Keller's teacher, Annie Sullivan recognized the importance of words in young Helen's develop- Christmas play. The Miracle Worker chronicles Sullivan's struggle with warmth, faith, and compassion. In order to teach her to communicate, Sullivan must teach Helen discipline, which was an ordeal in itself ment, and struggled feverishly to teach them to her. due to the girl's indulgent upbring- ing. Out of pity and perhaps a sort of misguided love, Helen's parents had raiseder without any sort pf controls,, afid Sullivan's first task is to tion in the second act unmotivated and superfluous. All we care about teach her to obey. Sullivan's own discipline, as well as her courage, faith, and brash toughness, make this an ty, and passion. pride creates both comedy and ten- Her driving desire to get through to Helen is palpable, as is her frustration with Helen's family for getting in the way. in Lovett has a brilliant Emily Jane Stuart (Helen) who is by far the most interesting character on stage. Stuart stayed true not only to Keller's handicaps, but her intelligence as well. Her impishness, frustration, and humanity grabbed the audience's attention. Some of the most entertaining and' comical scenes were the physical struggles between Keller and sion. Johanna Leister (Helen's mother) does well in her scenes with the captain and Helen, but seems a little awkward in her exchanges with Sullivan. We never get any real idea of how she feels about her daughter's Buddy works' hard at school ana 5 needs to play once in a while. Going Rshinq is one of the best Every week hundreds of students just like you wadeinto the stri at ffoo tforfojr to cast their lit i Of 11 i faltoUving rt -- V morlliiitipcalarties Sean ;atfract:ye V Room Pa - t it tiin philosophy. Pamela Berlin's directing is sensitive, subtle, and loving. It makes the most out of a half-broth- er "'r jas. ta aa Sullivan, choreographed by fight director David L. Boushey. They tumble, roll and perform acrobatic judo-esqu- e moves in their struggle over whether Helen should eat with a spoon. The often violent staging mirrored Sullivan's "tough-love- " While the play sheds light on Keller's relationship to her teacher, it leaves the characters of her parents and a little underdevel- mA?i3rVz2.y al anq- win n co-st- ar script. Parly II on Friday, December! Tho Ffii 1 lAahl Cj r their violent confronta- Lauren Lovett, who plays Sullivan in the PTC production, has a thorough understanding of what makes her character inspiring. She plays Sullivan with rare dignity, sensitivi- -- This This made inspiring play. n? our ;Trivltecluhr St... .iwpowntown. 521-- 9 oped. . There is a struggle between Captain Keller and his son which is resolved in some form at the end of the play. However, we don't know enough about either character for this struggle to mean anything. We know Helen's snide half brother James is a disappointment to his civil war veteran father, but we don't know why. We never learn what James does with himself all day or exactly why he resents his father. is who's on Sullivan's side. Kenneth Gray certainly makes a believable captain. His stubborn teacher. James, played by Coleman Zeigen, is the most confusing character in the play. His snideness is too bitter, and his tenderness too innocent to be believable. We also don't get much of his "journey" due to the scripts perfunctory treatment of his character. cast some excellent child actors to play the roles of Percy and Martha. Trevor K. Higgins and Malinda Ann Money have confident stage presence and real and engaging PTC responses to Helen. As usual, PTCs technical aspects are Paul Wonsek's set and Bill Black's costumes are both artistic and functional. Never for a moment do we top-notc- h. doubt the time period or location. Lighting designer Richard Winkler's portrayal of dusk dawn and are strikingly realistic and add a lot to the production. Like a lot of plays this holiday season. The Miracle Worker will warm your heart. Due to the talents of the actors and director, this production also provides art aesthetically inter- esting experience. The Miracle Worker plays at Pioneer Memorial Theater through Dec. 20. Weekday performances begin at 7:30 and weekend peror; mances begin at 8 pm with a Sat. matinee at 2 pm. $4 Student rush tickets are available one before curtain. , . half-ho-ur |