Review of Loft Theatre Company production of The Miracle Worker (2012)

This intensely moving true story does not immediately suggest itself as ideal stage material. But William Gibson’s Broadway triumph points otherwise.

To succeed, however, it demands a consummate degree of commitment and stagecraft. The theme is both harrowing and uplifting and must really tug at the heartstrings in depicting the relationship between the deaf and blind child Helen Keller and the woman who was to lift her out of her dark and silent world.

This production, alas, does not scale the heights. While achieving a level of worthiness and some competence, it fails to ignite the passion or startle and stimulate in the way it should. A bold undertaking, to be sure, but director Mary MacDonald provides a somewhat transparent essay into a complex and heavyweight theme.

Some of the problem arises from uneven pacing. The play needs to be tight and relentless where here it tends to falter, though never in the acute physical performance of Alisha Long (alternating the role of Helen with her sister Indianna) who achieves emotional extremes with considerable dexterity.

Her relationship with her new mentor, Annie Sullivan, is the keynote of the piece. Rachel Ratibb plays Annie with a convincing Irish accent and a full-on attacking approach, but this allows little scope for suggesting the inner demons that have blighted her own past life. As a result, Annie’s breakthrough lacks the depth it really needs. It’s hard to accept her skill of true communication.

The multi-purpose set fulfils the play’s needs but the use of soapy background music certainly does not. And the production suffers from weak support playing which undermines the foundations of the story.

Miracles, unfortunately, are not easy to achieve.

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Peter McGarry is an experienced, independent professional theatre critic who has agreed to review Loft Theatre Company productions.

The agreement with the Loft is that Peter is free to express his opinions for good or ill. The Loft Theatre Company has no control whatsoever over the content of these reviews and will never comment publicly on what he writes.