Welcome to Directory Of New York City! You can subcribe to our great local information via our RSS feed or by following us on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!

When The Miracle Worker premiered 50 years ago, it was a kid-friendly Broadway show that garnered a Tony award for Best Play. But does the new production measure up? And can you take your second grader? Our theater review of The Miracle Worker has the answers.

The Miracle Worker, starring Alison Pill, Abigail Breslin, Matthew Modine and Jennifer Morrison, is a play written by William Gibson about the struggle of a woman, Annie Sullivan, to teach Helen Keller, a deaf and blind girl, language. The play begins with the Keller house in a shambles, because Helen has no way of communicating and no manners or discipline. Sullivan is hired as her governess to reign her in and hopefully teach her something- two things no one has been able to do. Sullivan goes through Super Nanny-like challenges to bring order to Helen’s life and give meaning to the world around her.

One aspect that makes this play a great choice for families is the historical content. Much of the play is based on fact, as an insert stuck in the playbill testifies. The play touches on the Keller’s genteel Southern roots, Sullivan’s difficult childhood, and Helen’s early life. After the events of the play (spoiler alert!),  Sullivan continued teaching Keller to sign and aided her in an illustrious career of political activism, making Keller one of the most influential people of her time.

There is little material in the play that might be unsuitable for young children- there is no swearing or sex, and only the mild violence of Helen beating up everyone around her when she doesn’t get her way (a result of her not being able to communicate). A few intense scenes revolve around Annie being haunted by her brother, who died in an asylum- the boy contorts his body in odd ways and in one scene dies in Annie’s arms. A sensitive kid might be frightened by these scenes, but most kids age eight and up should be able to handle it.

The production itself is overwhelmingly strong. It is the first time the play has been staged in the round- meaning the audience sits on all sides of the stage, like in a stadium. Though this means that occasionally the audience is (maddeningly) looking at an actor’s back, it also allows the viewers to see multiple points of action in different rooms of the Keller house at one time. This makes the play constantly engaging and fast-moving. The only problem with the stadium seating is that sitting in the first couple of rows means you are eye-level with several of the set pieces. If you bring your child, I suggest sitting a couple rows back so your daughter can see over the trays of food and armchairs.

While the cast is solid, and Alison Pill as Annie Sullivan is particularly wonderful, kids will most enjoy the children in the cast, particularly Helen. Helen, played by the astounding Abigail Breslin of “Little Miss Sunshine,” remains onstage for much of the performance, and often what she is doing is more fascinating than anything else happening onstage. She fully embodies Helen, not just in her ability to act blind and deaf, but her ability to show exactly what Helen is feeling at all times- excitement, confusion, jealousy, happiness, anger, and her desperation to speak all shine through. Any kid interested in acting will love reading “A Day in the Life of Abigail,” a section of the program which explains the rehearsal and performing process and little tidbits of interesting information (example: Breslin does her own makeup as part of getting into character). Budding starlets can identify with Breslin and imagine themselves on the Broadway stage one day.

Many shows aimed at kids are great for the under seven set but torture for the adults, because they’re either boring or annoying.  The Miracle Worker is not like that. The script sometimes tends towards groan-inducing melodrama, but the cast pushes against that, particularly Alison Pill as the no-nonsense Sullivan. Pill makes lines that are cheesy by today’s standards seem fresh and grounded in a real voice. By the final scene, you’ll be crying tears of happiness rather than tears of frustration.

The best part of taking your kids to The Miracle Worker? Unlike most other Broadway shows, weekday performances are at 7pm, so you can take them on a Wednesday and still be awake and alert for school the next day (Friday and weekend performances start at 8). Interested? Get more information and tickets here: http://www.miracleworkeronbroadway.com/index.php. Show runs at the Circle in the Square theater, now through April 4th- so get tickets fast! Prices are $202 for premium seats, $117, $80, and $26 by special lottery (see site for more details.) Times: Tuesday – Thursday @ 7pm, Friday – Saturday @ 8pm, Wednesday & Saturday @ 2pm, Sunday @ 3pm.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Related posts

• 2010 Easter Egg Hunts in New York City (5)
• Earth Day 2010 in NYC: Family Events (0)
• Wine tasting in New York February 27-28 (0)
• Whitney Biennial 2010: NYC Art Event of the Year? (3)
• VH1 Divas 2009 in Brooklyn, NY (0)