Ridgeland ~ My Friend Elizabeth Keckley (a one act play) at Morris Heritage Center

My Friend Elizabeth Keckley, is a one-act play written and directed by Eileen Waite of Bluffton. Carolin Collins, also of Bluffton, will portray Lizzie Keckley, the modest confidante of Mary Todd Lincoln (played by Waite) during her years in the White House. Elizabeth Keckley was born a slave but worked to buy her freedom and to become a successful Washington dressmaker. While in the White House, Keckley also founded a Washington-based relief agency to aid wounded black soldiers. She was loyal to Mary Todd Lincoln until Lincoln’s death in 1882.
The play portrays the intimate friendship from Keckley’s point of view taken from her biography, Behind the Scenes, or Thirty years a Slave and Four Years in the White House. Waite utilizes dialogue from Keckley’s book and intersperses it throughout the dramatization. Her characters “break the fourth wall” at times to communicate directly with the audience. Ms. Waite also includes a slide presentation as a backdrop highlighting Keckley’s creations for Mary Todd Lincoln and moments in the lives of both women.
Pre-Registration is required and free admission. www.morrisheritagecenter.org