Often times, plays are written and staged, and then eventually adapted for film should there be a demand for it. Driving Miss Daisy is one of these, and though the film is a classic that most anyone would know, few may be aware that it has made its way back over to the stage, and in fact very recently. The Pulitzer Prize winning production had a revival in 2010, but in 2013 it was staged in Australia and filmed for cinemas all over the world. Graced by legends James Earl Jones and Angela Lansbury, Driving Miss Daisy was again revived and filmed in Melbourne at the Comedy Theatre.
Driving Miss Daisy is a classic 1980’s play and film. The story of this play also could not be simpler. Miss Daisy Werthan is old in age and widowed, and her son Boolie believes that she’s now at a point where she needs a personal chauffer.
Driving Miss Daisy is a classic 1980’s play and film. The story of this play also could not be simpler. Miss Daisy Werthan is old in age and widowed, and her son Boolie believes that she’s now at a point where she needs a personal chauffer. Stubborn as she is, she fights her son tooth and nail over the need for a driver, but eventually Boolie hires Hoke Colburn to drive her around and otherwise see to any other needs that may arise. Hoke is a black man, and as this story begins in the 1950’s, it’s very easy to see the themes the play highlights.
In this version of the play, the cast of three is played by Jones as Hoke, Lansbury as Miss Daisy, and Boolie is played by Boyd Gaines. All three actors are almost equal in stage time, and everyone very visibly gives it their all. Jones is compassionate and comical, and Lansbury plays that older mother that many have seen in their own families when old age comes along: hard to please and even more difficult to reason with. Gaines’ chemistry with Lansbury as mother and son is believable and they hit very close to home for audiences who have been dealt similar situations. All in all, the trio’s scenes together are solid, and Jones and Lansbury show that in their own elder age, they can still perform with the best of them.
The set and technical aspects were pretty standard, though this isn’t a play that involves too much spectacle. Much of the stage resembles a living room, featuring a few pieces of furniture and a staircase, whilst the “car” in which they drove was a bench and chairs on a rotating swivel. Simple, though not much else was necessary. This is a play about people and their evolving relationships through time and changing societal norms, as well as the shift in race relations in the Americas. More than anything this story is about friendship, and how friendships have the ability to grow even if they begin from a rocky place. The play was screened in cinemas just a few years back, but it is currently available for viewing on the Broadway HD streaming platform. Take the time to sit and watch a play that is as relevant today as it was when it first debuted.
