Driving Miss Daisy
Driving Miss Daisy
By Alfred Uhry
Directed by Aradhana Tiwari
Beth Marshall Presents
Garden Theater, Winter Garden FL</strong>
Old age begins when your experience restricts your world rather than expands it. Aging Miss Daisy (Elizabeth Murff) wrecked another car today, and her son Boolie (Michael Lane) lays down the law: She can live by herself so long as she gets a driver to take her to Piggy Wiggly and Temple. The lucky chauffeur he hires is Hoke (Michael Mormon), a self-effacing man who prefers to work for Jews. He’s aware of the Yiddish reputation for tightness, but reports it’s the generous and all-loving Baptist who really can screw you out of your last nickel. The initial relation between Miss Daisy and Hoke is tense, she won’t give up her independence and he won’t give up this well paying job. As the days roll on, she grudgingly begins to accept him, his patience wears her down, and Boolie gives him generous “cost of putting up with mom” raises. As Miss Daisy ages, her friends die off leaving her alone with only one person to depend on – the man who has gently re-oriented her concept of independent living.
In this triad of mutually assured co-existence, there’s a constant character growth for everyone on stage. The respectful and gracious Hoke initially excuses Miss Daisy’s outrageous antics, but eventually stands up for his own individuality. His pivotal scene has him demand to urinate on the long road strip from Atlanta to Mobile. After all, they don’t allow blacks to pee at the Standard Oil station. Boolie realizes the pressure Hoke is under, and supports him not only financially, but accepts him an equal member of the family. When the chance to buy one of Miss Daisy’s used Oldsmobiles arises, Boolie offers to sell directly at a discount to Hoke, who wisely insists the extra money he’ll pay by going through the dealer is well worth the lack of nagging he’ll receive from the old lady. Ms Murff’s histrionics recall relatives in my personal woodpile, yet stay just this side of the funny/annoying border to keep Miss Daisy believable. As all three slump and shuffle, they magically age the quarter century of stage time this show covers.
While the cast held up their end of the theatric bargain, the subtle backlighting of a simple stage set provided a dramatic visual angle to the show. Director Tiwari’s blocking and Amy Hadley’s light design placed the set in silhouette for scene transition, and brought it back in to a realistically genteel Atlanta for the action. The result was a shimmying flow thought the story and a delicate backdrop the growth of Miss Daisy’s affection for Hoke. We see that friends are where you find them, and the master/servant relation is not necessarily one of exploitation. While Uhry’s story made a fine movie (four Oscars), I found the stage play much more effective and engaging. This is a show worthy of the ovation it received, and one of the best productions Beth Marshall has delivered.
For more information on The Garden Theatre, please visit http://www.gardentheatre.org
