more from the C-T
BG--
"Driving Miss Daisy" a warm, sweet trip at North Carolina Stage Company
Tony Kiss • TKiss@CITIZEN-TIMES.com • published June 12, 2008 11:24 am
ASHEVILLE – “Driving Miss Daisy” is a tricky show to maneuver. Most everyone knows the 1989 Oscar-winning movie, with those memorable performances by Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman and Dan Aykroyd.
N.C. Stage Co. is closing its 2007-08 main stage season with the original theater masterpiece (which itself won a Pulitzer Prize). Because the show and movie performances are so familiar, any stage production really requires tremendous acting and directing to make its own mark.
But N.C. Stage delivers, with a touching, sweet, funny performance that connects on many levels.
Almost anyone with an aging relative can relate to this tale of feisty Daisy Worthan and her unusual, long friendship with faithful driver Hoke. Rounding out the trio is Daisy’s caring, concerned son, Boolie. The setting is Atlanta, from the late 1940s through the early 1970s.
Playwright Alfred Uhry crafted these multi-dimensional characters, and N.C. Stage director Angie Flynn-McIver brings them to life through a tremendous cast: Jane Bushway as Daisy, Paul Garrett as Hoke, and Joe Sturgeon as Boolie. All three evoke much humanity.
Bushway, well known for her many performances at Flat Rock Playhouse, shows major acting chops as Daisy, reluctant to give up an ounce of independence, but forced by the passing years to accept a driver. Bushway’s final scene is a tearjerker.
Garrett, making his N.C. Stage debut as Hoke, plays that role with true heart and skill. His best moment could be where he tells Daisy of a synagogue bombing – and his own long-ago tragedy.
Providing proper balance is Sturgeon, in the role of Daisy’s son, Boolie, nervous to rock the boat too much. It, too, is a nice bit of acting.
Uhry’s story conjures up an old, lost Atlanta, swept away by big-money development. It hits home in Asheville, where precious downtown landmarks are always endangered in the same manner.
13 June 2008
Driving Miss Daisy
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I really enjoyed the show. Both Jane Bushway and Paul Garrett did an amazing job of growing older right before you without the help of makeup or much of a costume change. I also enjoyed the levels. It was good to see more than just a flat stage. The only real nit-picky thing I have to say about the show is while Mr. Garrett's accent was very credible, at times I had some difficulty understanding him.
Post a Comment