On a Friday night before one of the biggest games on the University of Tennessee’s campus, an audience jumped to their feet to applaud an outstanding, riveting performance.

“The Miracle Worker” brought in a packed house during the already busy weekend. Audience members were taken on a journey through the early childhood of Helen Keller, a woman who turned deaf and blind at the age of 19 months.

The play is centered around Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan, who moves in with the Keller family and takes on the task of teaching the unruly child Keller has become.

Language must be learned, and Anne is the one determined to teach it.

Angela Church played Sullivan and delivered a beautiful performance. Patience, love and perseverance existed in every move she made. Church portrayed a wonderful depiction of such a brilliant character.

Giving a difficult and well-done performance of Keller was Rachel Finney who accomplished leaps and bounds in her character. The strange and almost inhumane behaviors of Helen Keller were delivered with passion.

The entire cast contributed to a fantastic performance on such a dark subject. There was consistent humor, well-played by every actor.

This allowed for the audience to be completely intrigued around every corner. What came next was a mystery. The crowd found themselves laughing at unexpected moments, hanging on every word the characters delivered.

The humor intertwined with the heart-wrenching story, making the whole performance balanced.

Further contributing to the brilliance of “The Miracle Worker” performance was the set. A skeletal frame of the Keller’s house served as the major set piece for the majority of the show. Like watching dolls move throughout a dollhouse, the sets created the image of an actual family moving about their home.

Strangely relatable and surprisingly humorous, the Clarence Brown Theatre hosted quite an amazing play. The hard work and determination this cast and crew has put into the show paid off.

If anything, the audience walked away with a new found hope.

If you ever want to step out of the box, take a break from the typical weekend shenanigans and go experience something different, then there’s always the opportunity to see the Miracle Worker.