CHILDREN’S THEATER REVIEW : Kids Work a ‘Miracle’ : Superior Acting Makes the Production by Broadway on Tour Suitable for Adults, Too

I have to admit that when I heard about Broadway on Tour’s production of “The Miracle Worker,” I didn’t expect much. Sure, the troupe deserved credit for ambition, but how could a children’s company best known for such spun-sugar productions as “Winnie the Pooh” handle the turbulent emotions of the Helen Keller story?

The answer: Just fine, thank you. So fine, in fact, that even if you don’t have children in tow you may want to change your weekend plans to catch the two final performances. Directed by Dan Halkyard, “The Miracle Worker” closes Saturday at the Vineyard Christian Church complex.

The two-act abridgment of Henry Gibson’s script begins with the sudden discovery of baby Helen’s blindness and deafness due to illness, and culminates with the first breakthroughs that result from the help of her teacher, Ann Sullivan (Glory Gray). The focus throughout the show is not so much on the process as on the tensions, disappointments and successes large and small experienced by the two young women and the Keller family.

Lauren Kling, who plays Helen, and Gray, both 14, are by far the standouts in the cast. Coming on the heels of her sweet-as-pie performance as BOT’s “Velveteen Rabbit,” Kling’s work is all the more impressive. Playing a blind and deaf person with a will of iron is demanding for an actor of any age, and Kling throws herself into it with energy and ability.

It’s a highly physical portrayal, yet despite all the thrashing and wrestling (the athletics she and Gray perform in long skirts are impressive), Kling doesn’t lose touch with Helen’s vulnerability. Indeed, Kling was so believable that it was almost jarring during the curtain call when she dropped character to casually glance at her fingernails.

Gray’s Sullivan is a fine counterpart, an outspoken young Irishwoman as determined to reach Helen as Helen is to avoid her grasp. From their first meeting at the Keller estate, it’s clear that each has met her match. Although it takes a fair amount of mental and physical bullying to win Helen’s trust, Gray avoids shrillness and melodrama and demonstrates maturity beyond her years.

Some of the other casting alternates. Last Saturday, Eddie Trevino, 16, and Deanna Durazzo, 14, played Helen’s parents, Captain and Kate Keller. Their performances, while not as polished as Kling’s and Gray’s, were clear and consistent and, along with 14-year-old Nathan Slezak’s wisecracking portrayal of Helen’s brother James, painted an affecting portrait of a family emotionally disabled by a handicapped child.

The situation reaches a boiling point in the second act’s dinner scene. After working intensively with Helen to establish a bond (a violent lesson in table manners spills into the audience), Sullivan’s authority is undermined by the girl’s well-intentioned parents. Helen’s hard-won progress seems jeopardized. Unfortunately, it is here that the script is cut deepest, and we get a too-quick resolution of the conflict.

Neal Caplin’s set design is sparse: Half a door frame suggests the entrance to the Keller house, a raised platform with a bed and dressing table serves as multiple bedrooms. In comparison, the period costumes on loan from Fullerton Civic Light Opera are comparatively lush. The recorded incidental music, mostly a mixture of Southern-tinged guitar pieces, is used appropriately (and should have replaced the New Age tunes that break the mood at intermission).

The cast includes younger members of Broadway on Tour’s regular company as well as members of its advanced acting troupe, the Rep. Broadway on Tour, established in 1987 by Halkyard and largely funded by people from the community and local businesses, presents an eight-show season and hosts a variety of performing arts classes for youngsters. The company is also presenting “The Frog Prince” at the Vineyard (through June 7) and will open Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” at the Forum Theatre in Yorba Linda on Aug. 7.

‘The Miracle Worker’

A Broadway on Tour production, directed by Dan Halkyard. With Allegra Barragan, Courtney Caplin, Deanna Durazzo, Cheryl Graves, Glory Gray, Kirstin Jorgensen, Lauren Kling, Laurie O’Remus, Matthew Slezak, Nathan Slezak, Brad Spencer, Eddie Trevino. Set by Neal Caplin. Costumes on loan from Fullerton Civic Light Opera. Continues tonight and Saturday at 7:330 p.m. at the Vineyard Christian Church complex, 5340 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. Tickets: $5. (714) 692-8102.