The Miracle Worker

Photo of Anne Bancroft as Annie Sullivan and Patty Duke as Helen Keller in the broadway play The Miracle Worker. In this scene, Miss Sullivan tries to teach Helen the meaning of "water".

The Miracle Worker is a cycle of 20th century dramatic works derived from Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life. Each of the various dramas describes the relationship between Helen, a deafblind and initially almost feral child, and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who introduced her to education, activism and international stardom. Its first realization was a 1957 Playhouse 90 broadcast written by William Gibson and starring Teresa Wright as Sullivan and Patricia McCormack as Keller. Gibson adapted his teleplay for a 1959 Broadway production with Anne Bancroft as Sullivan. The first movie, also starring Bancroft, was released in 1962. Subsequent made-for-television movies were released in 1979 and 2000.

Source of the name

The title originates in Mark Twain's description of Sullivan as a "miracle worker". The famed American humorist and author was an admirer of both women, and although his own personal finances were problematic, he helped arrange the funding of Keller's Radcliffe College education by his friend, financier and industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers.

Film

Play

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Miracle Worker.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.