The Miracle Worker

The Miracle Worker is a three-act play by William Gibson adapted from his 1957 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name. It was based on Helen Keller's 1903 autobiography The Story of My Life. The play's title was inspired by a Mark Twain quote: "Helen is a miracle, and Miss Sullivan is the miracle worker". Plot In Tuscumbia, Alabama, an illness renders infant Helen Keller blind, deaf, and consequently mute (deaf-mute). Pitied and badly spoiled by her parents, Helen is taught no discipline and, by the age of six, grows into a wild, angry, tantrum-throwing child in control of the household. Desperate, the Kellers hire Annie Sullivan to serve as governess and teacher for their daughter. After several fierce battles with Helen, Annie convinces the Kellers that she needs two weeks alone with Helen in order to achieve any progress in the girl's education. In this time, Annie teaches Helen discipline through persistence and consistency, and language through hand signals, a double breakthrough that changes Helen's life and has a direct effect on the lives of everyone in the family. Characters Annie Sullivan Helen Keller Captain Arthur H. Keller, Helen's father Kate Keller, Helen's mother James Keller, Helen's half-brother Aunt Ev, Arthur's sister and Helen's aunt Michael Anagnos, director of the Perkins School for the Blind Viney, a servant in the Keller household Percy, Viney's son Martha, Viney's daughter Blind Girls Offstage Voices