The Miracle Worker

Theatre-Hikes, the innovative theatre troupe that takes a classic play and stages its scenes at various locations along a trail in the outdoors requiring the audience to literally, physically, follow the action, has chosen the story of Helen Keller to kick off its 2006 summer season. The Miracle Worker, by William Gibson, opens June 3 at The Morton Arboretum and runs through July 9 at both the Arboretum and the Little Red School House Nature Center in Willow Springs.

Theatre-Hikes alum Linda LeVeque directs The Miracle Worker, a stirring dramatization of the story of blind and deaf Helen Keller, who comes under the tutelage of Annie Sullivan, an Irish girl who had been born blind herself. Only Annie realizes that there is a mind waiting to be rescued from that dark, tortured silence.

The Morton Arboretum (Arbor Court on East Side by Visitor Center)
4100 Illinois Route 53 in Lisle, IL
The Miracle Worker will run Saturdays and Sundays at 1 p.m., June 3-25 at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle. The June 11 showing will be a “low-impact” hike — which entails a ½ mile hike, rather than the normal 2 miles through the course of the show — and the June 18 show will be at 4 p.m. instead of 1 p.m. Tickets are $13 for members and $15 general and can be reserved at 630-725-2066. Morton Arboretum tickets

The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center
9800 Willow Springs Road
Willow Springs, IL
The Miracle Worker will then run July 8 and 9 at 1 p.m. at The Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, located at 9800 Willow Springs Road in Willow Springs, Illinois. Tickets for those showings are $10 general admission; $6 for children, 12 yrs and younger. For more information, call 773-293-1358.