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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