Emotional Complexity at Summerstage’s ‘The Miracle Worker’

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Summerstage of Delafield 'The Miracle Worker'

The idyllic stillness of the outdoor space at Summerstage of Delafield plays host to a drama of deep emotional complexity as director Elaine Rewolinski presents a production of The Miracle Worker. A casually stunning Katie Lynne Krueger delivers a performance of impressive complexity as the teacher Annie Sullivan, who is tasked with reaching Helen Keller, a young girl who could neither hear nor see. Lainey Techtmann is aggressively appealing as the young Helen breaking free from the darkness into a more intelligible world.

Sullivan was a woman of profound complexity. William Gibson’s script captures a great deal of that complexity in a role that would be a great challenge to anyone. Krueger does a marvelous job of moving through Sullivan’s intricate dichotomies. Krueger has a deft and delicate grasp of Sullivan’s casual confidence as an instructor that rests within a crushing uncertainty of a great many things. There is a great deal of profound wisdom in the character that flows from a total lack of experience in the work that she’s chosen for herself. Krueger charismatically glides her way through the performance with an earthbound heroism.

The cast assembled around Krueger and Techtmann quite capably rounds-out the world around Helen. Brittany Haut is a strong and compassionate presence onstage as Helen’s mother Kate. Her unwavering concern for her daughter is strongly felt throughout the production even when she’s not physically present. Michael Fantry holds a reasonably firm authority as Helen’s father. He lacks the ominous gravitas that would give Krueger something to heroically contrast against, but the compassion he brings to the role lends a reassuring emotional backdrop to a thoroughly enjoyable drama. 

Summerstage of Delafield’s production of The Miracle Worker runs through July 29 at Lapham Peak State Park. For more information, visit summerstageofdelafield.org.