Oscar winner Patty Duke coming to Omaha for 'Miracle Worker' screening
http://www.omaha.com/article/20140430/GO/140439986/1181#oscar-winner-patty-duke-coming-to-omaha-for-miracle-worker-screening
By Bob Fischbach
The Miracle Worker
What: Classic film screening by Omaha film historian Bruce Crawford, a benefit for the Omaha Parks Foundation
Special guest: Patty Duke
When: May 23, 7 p.m.
Where: Joslyn Art Museum's Witherspoon Concert Hall, 2200 Dodge St.
Tickets: $22; available at Hy-Vee Supermarkets in Omaha
Information: 402-926-8299 or omahafilmevent.com
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Patty Duke, who won an Oscar playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, is coming to Omaha for a May 23 screening of the 1962 movie.
The 7 p.m. event is the latest to be hosted by Omaha film historian Bruce Crawford at Joslyn Art Museum's Witherspoon Concert Hall. Tickets, $22, go on sale today at all Omaha Hy-Vee supermarkets. Part of the proceeds will benefit the Omaha Parks Foundation.
Crawford had long wanted to host The Miracle Worker but waited for Duke's schedule to be free for an appearance. He said he has loved the movie since first seeing it on television as a kid, admiring it for its visual starkness and emotionally powerful storyline.
He said he's also a fan of Laurence Rosenthal's movie score and the performance of character actor Victor Jory (Gone With the Wind) as Keller's father.
The Miracle Worker is the true story of Helen Keller, deaf and blind from a very early age. Helen learned to write and speak from teacher Annie Sullivan only after a protracted battle with a family that had spoiled Helen with pity. To teach Helen language, Sullivan first had to instill self-discipline. A famous battle of wills (and spoons) around the family breakfast table has since become the stuff of stage and movie lore.
FULL story at link.