In award winning American Jewish playwright Alfred Uhry’s oeuvre, his 1987 play DRIVING MISS DAISY ranks as the first in his Atlanta trilogy of plays on Jewish themes. DRIVING MISS DAISY was followed later by THE LAST NIGHT OF BALLYHOO (1996) dealing with a Jewish family during an important social event and, finally, the musical PARADE (1998) about the 1913 trial of Jewish factory manager, Leo Frank.
By far his most celebrated work, DRIVING MISS DAISY tells the story of the growing friendship and respect that develops between the frail but very feisty, Jewish aristocrat Daisy Werthan and her newly instated chauffeur Hoke Coleman. The play is set in the deep south of Georgia, in the 1950’s and 1960’s, at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, during which the late, great Martin Luther King left such a legacy.
In similar style to Bernard Slade’s classic 1975 romantic comedy SAME TIME NEXT YEAR, Uhry’s play works well as a compelling document of social history. The manner in which the play charts the loosening of the formality and archness of the relationship between Daisy and Hoke mirrored the sentiments that were starting to stir within society.
The show’s wonderful acting trio served Uhry’s poignant, and at time very humorous script in exemplary fashion. Angela Lansbury as Daisy Werthan, James Earl Jones as Hoke Coleburn and, the less well known but just as impressive, Boyd Gaines as Daisy’s dutiful son, Boolie, did not miss a beat through the whole show. The trio richly deserved the standing ovation that they received at curtain call from a smitten audience.
The great timing and the sure touches were on show from the outset, in an acting master class. The scene where Daisy’s attempt to catch Hoke out with an act of dishonesty (a ‘stolen’ can of food) badly misfires and she has to slink away stood out in a show of highlights.
The only reservation held on the night was with the documentary footage screened against the back wall which, at times, lacked clarity. Ironically, a case in point, where the power and grace of the acting far outshone contemporary technology!
In Sydney as part of a national tour, DRIVING MISS DAISY, directed by David Esbjornson, opened at the still resplendent Theatre Royal theatre on Saturday 2nd March and runs until Sunday 31st March, 2013.
(c) David Kary
4th March, 2013
Tags: Sydney Stage Reviews- DRIVING MISS DAISY, Alfred Uhry, Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones, Boyd Gaines, David Esbjornson, Theatre Royal, Jeff Busby, Sydney Arts Guide, David Kary
