STAGE REVIEW : A Potent, Poignant Update in ‘Monday After the Miracle’

Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse’s moving “Monday After the Miracle” reopens the door on Helen Keller and her teacher, Annie Sullivan, years after “The Miracle Worker” introduced us to the remarkable pair.

In this 1982 sequel to “The Miracle Worker,” playwright William Gibson presents a Helen far different from the frightened girl whose life amounted to a painful and frustrating vacuum. With Annie’s guidance, she has adapted to her handicaps in a manner that is not so much miraculous as a testament to her willful intelligence and drive. The older Helen is more likely to stumble over her incipient sexuality and the feelings it inspires than a misplaced chair in the living room.

Annie has also changed. Approaching 37 and realizing that she may need more than Helen’s love, Annie is attracted to the brilliant and bold John Macy, a fellow teacher and writer with socialist leanings who is drawn to both women. He marries Annie, and the three set up house, creating a situation explosive in ways of the mind, heart and body.

As with “The Miracle Worker,” this drama is highly idealistic and makes no bones about reaching us on a purely emotional level. Without precise direction and restrained, pointed acting, “Monday After the Miracle” could quickly spin over the edge from pathos to bathos.

No such problems at Costa Mesa--director Howard Shangraw, one of South Coast Repertory’s resident actors, and his capable cast have formed a production that balances poignancy and potency. The play’s sweeping romantic current is not allowed to obscure the more fundamental relationship that continues to develop between Helen and Annie as they mature and find new places in their shared world.

Shangraw is fortunate to have a pair of actresses able to combine technique with style in reaching the audience.

Deeana Pampena is wonderful as Helen. What’s first noticed is how accurately she assumes the physical restrictions of her character (Bera Dordoni, a speech pathologist, helped Pampena prepare). The voice is distorted, the facial expressions exaggerated, but Pampena is not forced into an abstract portrayal--she is able to convey Helen’s depth, a mixture of pride, humor and the poet’s love of beauty.

But this is not a worshipful turn. Pampena honestly shows us Helen’s immaturity, selfishness and supreme loneliness as well. There are tantrums and terrible mistakes (her near-marriage to a shy suitor is just one) in this woman, and they flood out, often leaving chaos as the fallout.

Annie, however, is always there to restore order. She is a reservoir of strength, and that’s how Susan Adams plays her. But this is a very human approach as well, and Adams is eager to reveal Annie’s anxiety over Helen’s dependence. The responsibility is vast and hobbling, and Annie aches under the knowledge that her own needs are often subjugated. But, as she tells John, she is “married to Helen,” and that connection transcends everything.

As John, Marc Whitmore is a bit unsteady early on, but he soon pulls his performance together. In smaller roles, Marc Stewart nicely underplays the young man infatuated with Helen, and Julian Ertz is adequate as Ed, Annie’s friend and doctor.

The production values keep pace with the overall quality. Eugene McDonald’s set is utilitarian and graceful, and Loretta Lupo’s vintage costumes give it all an authentic, turn-of-the-century look.

An interpreter for the deaf will accompany the Nov. 19 production with sign language.

‘MONDAY AFTER THE MIRACLE’

A Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse production of William Gibson’s drama. Directed by Howard Shangraw. With Susan Adams, Deeana Pampena, Marc Whitmore, Marc Stewart and Julian Ertz. Set and lighting by Eugene McDonald. Costumes by Loretta Lupo. Sound by Jim Bell. Plays Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Nov. 27 at 661 Hamilton St., Costa Mesa. Tickets: $6.50 and $7.50. (714) 650-5269.