November 7, 2025 by Haley Hammer (‘29)
Wah-wah water.
Those are the first true words or sounds that Miss Annie Sullivan would teach Helen Keller on her incredible journey of speech as somebody who was blind and deaf. Due to her disabilities, most thought of Helen Keller as someone who could not learn or communicate. From a very young age, Helen Keller had learned to speak through the art of vibrations with the help of her incredible teacher Annie Sullivan.
In the past 4 weeks, Saratoga Springs High School’s very own Drama Club has worked diligently to put on two shows-November 7th and 8th at 7:30 pm-to portray the immaculate story of Helen Keller directed by Bob Berenis. Throughout this journey, the SSHS rendition of The Miracle Worker starts out at the Keller household with Helen’s parents, Kate Keller (Saratoga senior Ella Warden) and Captain Keller (Merritt Nowicki) learning that their daughter is deaf and blind. As we further progress in our story, Helen (Alicen Brown) grows up to be a young child and tries to learn to adapt to the world without being able to see nor hear.
During this time, her parents and brother James (Max Mittler) try to adapt to their new lifestyle with their disabled child and with limited technology to help. Then, Keller’s newly hired new teacher, Miss Annie Sullivan, enters the storyline and becomes a pivotal character in Keller’s journey. Sullivan is a determined, intelligent, and independent woman (Sarah Pipino), helping the Keller family in transforming their daughter into a child that lives a normal life. Later within Helen’s life, she grew up to go to Radcliffe College (Harvard Women’s College), became a political activist, and met many famous people such as Alexander Graham Bell, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. A truly inspirational story from an underdog who succeeded in life against all odds.
This moving story demonstrates the beauty of life and how anything is possible, along with highlighting the true miracle of Helen Keller and her journey in finding herself and sharing her story with the world. If you are interested in an inspiring, heartwarming, family story with an amazing message of hard work, resilience, overcoming adversity, see SSHS transform this story into performance in The Miracle Worker at Lowenberg Auditorium 11/7 and 11/8 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available at the door for $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.