The name Helen Keller is familiar to many, often referenced as an example of perseverance and determination. But do you know the story of Helen Keller? Next week the Bishop’s University Drama Department will stage a production of the iconic play The Miracle Worker: The Story of Helen Keller at Centennial Theatre. Written by William Gibson and based on Keller’s autobiography The Story of My Life, the play was first produced in 1959. “It’s probably among the top five American plays of all time,” explained George Rideout, BU drama professor and director of the play. Rideout said last spring the drama department decided on The Miracle Worker as this year’s winter production, knowing there was a talented group returning to take on the play. “I knew we had a strong group of actors. It’s very demanding emotionally and physically,” Rideout said. “It’s a tall task as a play and requires top notch people. We knew we had them,” he said. Anyone can Google Helen Keller (1880-1968) and see she was an extraordinary woman. An American author and activist, she was the first deaf-blind person to graduate with a university degree and spent her adult life lecturing and campaigning for women’s suffrage and labour rights. See full story in the Thursday, March 5 edition of The Record.
The Miracle Worker coming to Centennial
By Matthew McCully