From April 28th through May 16th, Vermont Stage Company, downtown Burlington’s professional theatre, will present The Miracle Worker by William Gibson in the intimate setting of FlynnSpace. This heart-warming and soul-inspiring classic recounts the early life of Helen Keller-deaf and blind since infancy-as she finds her way into the world of inner light with the help of her tutor, Annie Sullivan. The Miracle Worker is an uplifting story of overcoming unbelievable odds and has been heralded by the New York Mirror as “an emotional earthquake…a magnificent drama. A play with the power to wrench the heart.” Director Mark Nash asserts that VSC’s production of The Miracle Worker will be quite different from other performances of the play that audiences may have seen before. Nash said, “Because of the intimacy of setting, the emphasis will be on the emotional world of the play more than the physical world. The set has been stripped down to the bare minimum and we’ve created a space that allows for the fluid movement of time and place. Furthermore, by using sound, light and the physical creativity of the actors, we’re going to give the audience moments of what it is like to be in Helen’s world-a world of silence and darkness, a world in which Helen, her teacher and her parents, are desperately trying to penetrate.” Since becoming VSC’s Artistic Director in 2000, Nash has directed A Streetcar Named Desire, Waiting for Godot, and Our Town. He most recently appeared in VSC’s production of Underneath the Lintel in March. Annie Sullivan will be played by New York-based actress Ivy Vahanian whose recent credits include Anne Deever in All My Sons (Actors Theater of Louisville), Daisy in Biloxi Blues (Geva Theater), Annie in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Cleveland Playhouse) and Nora in Brighton Beach Memoirs (Alabama Shakespeare Festival). Helen Keller will be played by Francesca Blanchard who appeared as Scout in a Vermont Stage production of To Kill a Mockingbird last spring and more recently as Jack in VSC’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales. The Miracle Worker will be presented from Wednesday, April 28th, through Sunday, May 16th, with performances at 7:30 pm Wednesday through Saturday, and 2:00 pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets may be purchased through the Flynn Regional Box Office by calling 86-Flynn or online at www.flynntix.org ($23.00 – $27.50).