A Mesmerizing Miracle for the Entire Family Arrives at Kelowna Actors Studio

Includes a special sign language interpreted matinee on June 12, 2010

KELOWNA - The inspiring story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who opened the world to a blind and deaf child, comes to the stage, as Kelowna Actors Studio (KAS) presents The Miracle Worker May 20th to June 13th, 2010.

Directed by Randy Leslie, The Miracle Worker is a Tony Award-winning play (1959), Academy Award-winning movie (1962) and Emmy Award-winning television movie (1979) and was recently revived on Broadway in 2010 with Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine).

The play was written in the 1950s by William Gibson  following his discovery of Sullivan’s letters detailing her experiences teaching a young deaf and blind child in Alabama in the late 1800s.

“The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan is an inspiring tale of perseverance, of triumph over adversity and of the bond that forms when a determined teacher refuses to give up on what most people at the time believed to be a hopeless child,”  says Mr. Leslie.“Helen Keller, as an adult said, ‘The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - - they must be felt with the heart.’  This powerful cast touches the heart in so many ways.”

Gibson’s play tells the story of young Helen Keller, blind, deaf, and mute since infancy, who is in danger of being sent to an institution. Her inability to communicate has left her frustrated and violent. In desperation, her parents seek help from the Perkins Institute, which sends them a "half-blind schoolgirl" named Annie Sullivan to tutor their daughter. Through persistence and love, and sheer stubbornness, Annie attempts to break through Helen's walls of silence and darkness to teach her to communicate.

Performing these demanding roles are Patricia Burns as Annie Sullivan and Emma Magirescu as Helen Keller.

Patricia Burns (Annie Sullivan) Miss Burns moved to Kelowna from Vancouver in 2001 and has been involved in the Kelowna theatre scene ever since.  For KAS Miss Burns played the coveted role of Shirley in Shirley Valentine as well as roles in The Laramie Project (Reggie Fluty as well as others), The Odd Couple (Gwendolyn Pigeon), Steel Magnolias (Truvy), Arsenic & Old Lace (Abby), Hello Dolly (Ernestina), On Golden Pond (Chelsea), Lost in Yonkers (Bella) and Lend Me A Tenor (Maria).  She won the Mainstage Best Supporting Actress Award for How I Learned to Drive and won the Best Actress Award in the KAS One Act Festival in Scent of Honeysuckle.  Other performance credits include Merry Wives of Windsor and I Hate Hamlet.

Emma Magirescu (Helen Keller). Local audiences will have seen Emma in Seussical – The Musical (Theatre Kelowna Society & Sunshine Theatre), Good Night Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet (TKS), and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (TKS).  Film credits include The Legend Of Simon Conjourer as Little Lulu and Colours of the Mind.  Emma is a prolific singer/songwriter and has performed in Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, the United States, and across Canada.  She was a finalist in the Our Kids Have Talent competition in 2008, and was the first place winner in the vocal category at last year’s Barefoot In The Park in Peachland.  For the past two years, Emma has also performed in Vernon at the Rare Earth Jazz & Blues Festival. Currently a student at Kelowna Secondary School, Emma is active in drama and sings with the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Chamber Choir and R&B band. In 2008, she released her debut album Emma Magirescu – Dreaming of Living (available on iTunes).

Other cast members include: Brad Hull (Captain Keller), Dorothy Dalba (Kate Keller), Scott Lawler (James Keller), Casey Kneller (Aunt Ev), Ron Green (Doctor/Dr. Anagnos), Janet Jansen (Viney), Joshua Donaldson (Jimmie/Percy), Brianna Lange (Martha/Blind Girl) and Emma Butler, Courtney Donaldson and Kate Hammer (Blind Girls).

This production features direction and lighting design by Randy Leslie, Nathan Flavel  acts as executive producer and set designer , sound design/mixing by Jordan Leboe, set décor by Norene Morrow, costume design and  construction by Hazel Rodgers, assistant to the director and props by James Long with hair and makeup by Chelsey Chase.  Tammy Abrahamson is the production stage manager, assisted by Carlee Vollhoffer.

We are very excited that the matinee on June 12th at 1p.m. will be a SPECIAL SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETED performance.

Kelowna Actors Studio is the Okanagan’s only licensed dinner theatre and has been voted the Best Theatre Company by the readers of Okanagan Life, seven years running.  The 2009/10 Season marks the 7th anniversary of Kelowna Actors Studio, which, in 2003, began producing, and presenting top-quality live musical theatre and drama for the cultural enrichment of the Okanagan community. The Kelowna Actors Studio maintains a subscription audience of 2,000 and an annual attendance of over 20,000.

The theatre is committed to encouraging the next generation of theatre-goers through its educational programmes and entertainment opportunities.

Please contact Nathan Flavel, Executive Producer, at 250-979-8310 with questions or to schedule individual interviews. Photos available upon request.

Shows run Thursday to Sunday nights with Saturday matinees and dinner and dessert ticket options are available. Tickets are available at the on-site box office, across from the public library, by calling 250-862-2867 or online at www.KelownaActorsStudio.com. 

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