Five-year-old Sparks debuts as youngest Helen in ‘The Miracle Worker’ play
The story of how Anne Sullivan broke through the barrier and managed to communicate with and teach Helen Keller has captivated audiences for generations.
In 1962, the film “The Miracle Worker” starring Anne Bancroft as Sullivan and Patty Duke as Keller was released, and earlier that same year, a play version has been performed on the grounds of Keller’s childhood home, Ivy Green in Tuscumbia.
This year marks the 65th season of the play, yet in all that time, no one with hearing loss has played the role of Helen.
That is, until now.
On Saturday, June 13, 5-year-old Ruby Sparks debuted as Helen in the play. Not only is Ruby the first “Helen” to share a form of hearing loss as the titular person, she is also them youngest to ever play the part.
Ruby is sharing the role of Helen with her older sister Nora. One sister plays the role on one night, the other takes the helm the next night.
“I’m playing Helen, and my 5-year-old sister is also playing Helen,” Nora said during a promotional video on the Miracle Worker at Ivy Green Facebook page. “She has sensorineural hearing loss. She can hear deeper sounds better. A bird tweeting, she can’t hear it very good, but she can hear thunder. She’s also the youngest Helen yet.”
As the first performance by Ruby of Helen in the play came to a close, distant lightning lit up the sky.
Ivy Green Executive Director Sue Pilkilton said Ruby’s performance brought her to tears.
“I have one word for this 5-year-old little Helen…. SUPERB,” Pilkilton posted to social media.
About the play
“The Miracle Worker” opened at Ivy Green on June 29, 1962, to a capacity crowd. It was a hit, and a yearly tradition began on the Ivy Green grounds. A month later, the Academy Award winning film of “The Miracle Worker,” produced by Fred Coe, directed by Arthur Penn, and starring Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, was released.
“The Miracle Worker” tells the story of Annie Sullivan and her student, blind and mute Helen Keller, dramatizing the volatile relationship between the lonely teacher and her charge. Trapped in a secret, silent world, unable to communicate, Helen is violent, spoiled, almost sub-human and treated by her family as such. Only Annie realizes that there is a mind and spirit waiting to be rescued from the dark, tortured silence. With scenes of intense physical and emotional dynamism, Annie’s success with Helen finally comes with the utterance of a single, glorious word: “water.”
Every year since 1962, this moving story of the triumph of the human spirit has been told on the grounds where Annie Sullivan taught Helen Keller the meaning of language. Today, the production brings people from all over the world and is the Official Outdoor Drama for the State of Alabama.
Performances are held Friday and Saturday nights between June 12-27 and July 10-18.
Thursday night performances are held June 25 and July 16. There are no performances on July 3 and 4.
The show begins promptly at 8 p.m. each night.
Get tickets by calling (256) 383-4066 or visiting themiracleworker.info.
There are several roles that are double cast this season. Cast members include:
Abigail Johnson and Anna Kelley as Anne Sullivan and Kate Keller, Nora Sparks and Ruby Sparks as Helen Keller and Jonathan Moore as Capt. Arthur Keller.
“Welcome to Ivy Green to my show. Come see me as Helen Keller,” Ruby said.
