BU to screen drama ­department’s production of The Miracle Worker

By Matthew McCully

The Bishop’s University Drama Department had pulled out all the stops for its winter production. The set was built. The cast spent their March break hard at work rehearsing.
Unfortunately, despite selling hundreds of tickets in advance for the show, due to COVID-19 the production of The Miracle Worker: The Story of Helen Keller was cancelled.
But all was not lost.
The play was staged for two nights to an audience of around 50 close friends and family members spread out in Centennial Theatre. And on the second night, the production was filmed by three senior students from BU professor Tim Doherty’s digital imaging class.
Thursday at 7 p.m. BU will stream the recording of the famous play.
The idea, according to BU Media rep Olivier Bouffard, is to bring the community together to tune in at the same time and share a moment when maintaining social distancing is still so important. It is also an opportunity to allow the hard work of the BU Drama Department’s cast and crew to reach a wider audience since the show was cancelled.
Written by William Gibson and based on Keller’s autobiography The Story of My Life, The Miracle Worker was first produced in 1959.
The play centres around the point in Helen Keller’s life when both she and her parents were frustrated and at a loss for what to do. With the help of teacher Annie Sullivan, Keller decoded the mystery of language and was able to communicate with the outside world.
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