Tomorrow evening (October 7), Alfred Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Driving Miss Daisyfinally makes its Broadway debut after first premiering Off-Broadway 23 years ago.
With David Esbjornson behind the wheel to steer the play, this production has already become a very hot ticket because of its three top-drawer, Tony-winning actors. Vanessa Redgrave will portray Daisy Werthan, James Earl Jones plays her chauffeur and friend Hoke Colburn and Boyd Gaines returns to Broadway as Daisy's son Boolie, who insists his mother's car keys be taken away.
A timeless American play, which inspired the beloved Academy Award-winning film, Driving Miss Daisy tells the affecting story of the decades-long relationship between a stubborn Southern matriarch and her compassionate chauffeur. Their iconic tale of pride, changing times and the transformative power of friendship has warmed the hearts of millions, and is being performed for the first time on a Broadway stage.
Before I ever saw that Oscar-winning film, I caught Driving Miss Daisy on a West End stage in 1988. I was fortunate to see the late Dame Wendy Hiller and a young Clarke Peters in the two primary roles. It didn't matter that the set design was incredibly spare because the two of them were simply magnificent. It remains one of the most memorable nights I've ever enjoyed at the theatre.
Previews for this new "strictly limited engagement" begin October 7 at the John Golden Theatre. The show opens October 25 and is only slated to run through January 29, 2011.
To see this trio of stage greats demonstrate their acting prowess, is it any wonder that many performances are already selling out?
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Starry Driving Miss Daisy Steers Toward Great White Way
No sooner do I post my story on all the plays and musicals that have been confirmed for Broadway this next season and up pops another new show. Well, perhaps not exactly "new."
Directed by David Esbjornson, this revival will be Miss Daisy's first trip ever down Broadway, after having first appeared 23 years ago at Off-Broadway's Playwrights Horizons with Dana Ivey and Morgan Freeman.
The one and only time I caught Driving Miss Daisy on stage came in 1988 when I experienced the play in London. I'll never forget that incredible evening with the late Dame Wendy Hiller portraying Daisy Werthan opposite a young Clarke Peters as her chauffeur and companion Hoke Colburn. Presented as a three-hander, the stage was virtually bear save for some folding chairs lined up in lieu of car seats. Hiller and Peters didn't need any props to power their story of enduring friendship forward. They were simply magnificent, and it was a night at the theatre unlike any other I've ever enjoyed.
If I have any quibble with yesterday's announcement, it's that James Earl Jones is six years older than Vanessa Redgrave. The entire play's premise is built around Miss Daisy being too old to drive herself, let alone by someone on the cusp of turning 80. That Jones is now six years older than Morgan Freeman, who had just turned 50 when he first took to the wheel of the 1987 Off-Broadway production, makes me wonder how exactly Esbjornson will conceive his Hoke. But given how much I admire both Redgrave and Jones, you can bet that I'm looking forward to seeing this production.
Slated to being previews at the John Golden Theatre on October 7, Driving Miss Daisy will open on October 25. The limited engagement will conclude its run January 29, 2011.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.
Clocking in at just 85 performances there, I had to wait for the superb national tour with David Pittu.
But it was worth the wait. I found myself completely swept away by the chilling, yet beautifully told musical about a Brooklyn-born Jew named Leo Frank who, as transplant to Atlanta, was charged in the 1913 murder of one of his young factory workers, Mary Phagan. It's a story I could never quite shake.
What always struck a nerve with me was its harrowing depiction of America's grapple with bigotry. Whether racism or anti-Semitism, the underbelly of our nation's heritage has included some truly shameful episodes. In Parade, racism and anti-Semitism collide head-on in the pre-World War I South, where the religious belief in one's heart appeared to trump the color of his skin, allowing the true tale of Leo Frank to become a cause célèbre.
The tuner was finally performed last year to great acclaim in London, garnering seven Olivier Award nominations. As much as I had hoped to get there, I did not.
Fortunately, thanks to a chance encounter a couple weeks ago with Peter Rothstein and Denise Prosek of the Twin Cities' Theater Latté Da, I learned that their truly inspired little theatre company was performing this amazing, yet rarely seen work. It was my great fortune to take in a performance last evening. Since it is closing tomorrow, all I can say is that if you are presently in the vicinity of Minneapolis/St. Paul, you must do everything you can to see this rousing, stunning Parade.
Through Rothstein and Prosek's vision, Theater Latté Da has become the Twin Cities' leading company for presenting underperformed musicals. Think of it as a Midwestern version of New York City Center's Encores! And yet, this dynamic duo manage to conjure up their blend of magic with a fraction of the budget.
While they're short on cash, they're long on dreaming big. Bolstered by Prosek's exquisite musical direction, Rothstein is confidently at the helm in reimagining this musical, making Parade a stunning, towering achievement, not just for a small fledgling regional theatre, but for theatre, period. They have done the Uhry and Brown work extraordinarily proud and turned it into the type of show that burrows deep into your soul.
Thankfully, Rothstein and Prosek's dreaming extends where it matters most: from designers adept at doing so much with the deceptively simple (like Kate Sutton-Johnson's multi-tiered sets and Paul Hackenmueller's haunting lighting) to an exceptionally strong local cast of 25, guaranteed to take your breath away right down to some of the most minor of roles.
In fact, very early on in this production, you can't help but realize that this is not just some pedestrian group of actors. It's a cohesive ensemble that shines brilliantly throughout, not only in the abundantly talented leads of Leo Frank (Theater Latté Da regular Dieter Bierbrauer, who, if there is a quibble, it's that he can't shed his waspy looks) and his wife Lucille (Ann Michels), but especially in supporting roles like newspaper hound Britt Craig (Randy Schmeling) and Frankie Epps (Brian Skellenger), the boy who had a crush on the murdered girl.
Blessedly short on histrionics, Schmeling practically steals the show with his very real drunken "Big News!" And it's matched moments later by Skellenger's verisimilitudinous anguish in the heartwrenching "There Is a Fountain / It Don't Make Sense" sung pitch-perfect as Mary Phagen is laid to rest -- his performance was so believable, I found myself on the verge of tears. It's a wonder that Schmeling and Skellenger haven't already been scooped up by New York casting directors.
That they are complemented by splendid performances throughout -- including Caroline Innerbichler (Mary Phagan), Nathan Brian (Hugh Dorsey), Jody Briskey (Mrs. Phagan), Shawn Hamilton (Jim Conley), Reginald D. Haney (Newt Lee), George Muellner (Old Soldier/Judge Roan) and Kevin Dutcher (Luther Rosser) -- cements Rothstein's reputation, not only as an impeccable reinterpreter of seemingly minor musicals, but as a man capable of attracting and realizing the full potential of his gifted actors.
By far the best Theater Latté Da effort I've yet to see, it's my sad duty to report that there are but two performances left. So if you're anywhere near the Twin Cities this weekend, try not to let this Parade pass you by.
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On paper (or on a Web site), it at least looks good, with a musical love story built around Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, direction by Hal Prince, a book by Alfred Uhry, and a stellar cast including Michael Cerveris, Donna Murphy and David Pittu. Did the critics think it all added up to beautiful music, worthy of the award nominations it's already garnered?
Look no further than New York Post's Clive Barnes, who opines in his three-star review: "If, in the remarkable -- no, sensational -- hands of both Donna Murphy as Lenya and Michael Cerveris as Weill, the music comes off more convincingly than the love, that was ultimately the story of their lives....The book is frankly clunky. But time and time again it is luckily resuscitated by the music and the altogether remarkable performances from the whole cast under Harold Prince's inspired direction."
Calling it a "daring new musical," Newday's Linda Winer is mostly positive: "The show has its problems, some inherent in the range of Weill's music, and a few that seem to be almost willfully wrong-headed choices by director Harold Prince and author Alfred Uhry. But its strengths -- especially the courageous, ruggedly brilliant performances by Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy -- are far more haunting than the flaws are troubling."
The first review posted before last night's performance even began came from Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press, who in calling the production "uneven yet fascinating" goes on to say: "[T]he production -- much of it based on letters between Weill and Lenya -- still feels unfinished and uncertain....Cerveris and Murphy dominate. Both have undergone startling physical transformations and both are flawless in their Teutonic accents -- which does make the English lyrics a little more difficult to understand....Prince presents the show as if it were a revue, a series of sketches depicting the lives of these unique people. There is a mock proscenium within the real proscenium of the Biltmore to underscore the artificiality of the storytelling."
Offering a surprising assessment that LoveMusik "is sluggish, tedious and (hold your breath) unmissable," The New York Times' Ben Brantley notes: "Donna Murphy and Michael Cerveris turn in stunningly shaded performances that hold their own in a season notable for its surprisingly high standard of celebrity character studies....How you wish, though, that they weren’t trapped in the struggle between Alfred Uhry’s conventionally sentimental book and Mr. Prince’s self-consciously jaded staging."
Calling it "ambitious but schizophrenic," Eric Grode of The New York Sun laments: "LoveMusik comes tantalizingly close to explaining how the son of a cantor and a former child prostitute formed one of the 20th century's most curious romances. Ironically, though, the project is foiled by the very thing that made it so tempting in the first place -- Weill's own versatility....This embarrassment of lyrical riches stymies Messrs. Prince and Uhry, who are left with a stylistic smorgasbord that continuously wriggles free of any unified tone and leaves the complexities of the Weill-Lenya relationship unexplored."
All these reviews would seem to suggest that the nominations the show has already received were deserved. Whether or not audiences will gravitate toward this unusual musical remains to be seen.
This evening, the final new musical entrant of the 2006-07 Theatrical Season opens at the Manhattan Theatre Club's Biltmore Theatre. Unlike other tuners that opened on Broadway this season,LoveMusikis enjoying its world premiere.
Have you ever seen an actor, of whom you've never previously heard anything, who blows you away -- so much and so positively -- that you know you'll never forget them? Actor David Pittu, who is currently part of the phenomenal cast of The Coast Of Utopia, is one such actor.
I first caught Pittu when I took in the 2000 tour of the Uhry/Jason Robert Brown musical Parade. Pittu absolutely took my breath away with his brilliant portrayal of the tragic Leo Frank. It should be noted that critics hailed Pittu's breakthrough performance and largely credited him for helping the tour succeed in measurable ways that surpassed the original Broadway production. Pittu was so superb that he was honored with the National Broadway Award for Best Actor in a Musical.
Pittu's addition to the cast of LoveMusik is enough to push me toward purchasing a ticket. Previews for the show begin on April 12; the musical opens on May 3 at the Biltmore Theatre.
As noted here nearly two weeks ago, when award-winning playwright Alfred Uhry was introduced during his recent appearance at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater, it was announced that he had written the book for a new musical LoveMusik, which supposedly would have its debut on Broadway this spring. In fact, it was also mentioned that the tuner would be helmed by legendary director Hal Prince. Of course, that was the first I had heard of this new show.
Now comes official word that the Manhattan Theatre Club will host that premiere. And what a starry affair it promises to be as both Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy will headline the story in the roles of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya, respectively. Weill's music will also be featured.
LoveMusik is slated to open at the Biltmore Theatre on May 3, 2007 -- just in time for Tony consideration. If this proves to be a critical success, this year's Tony competition will only intensify as one of the strongest years for new musicals over the past couple decades.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for information on the Manhattan Theatre Club. Related Stories: Driving Alfred Uhry (November 6, 2006)
In the second in a terrific series of conversations with renowned playwrights during the inaugural season at its new facility, Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater hosted Alfred Uhry this evening.
If his name doesn't quickly register, surely his award-winning productions would: Driving Miss Daisy (the stage version won him a Pulitzer in 1987 while the Best Picture incarnation landed him with an Oscar 1990), The Last Night Of Ballyhoo (which won him a Tony for Best Play in 1997) and Parade (which won him both a Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical in 1999).
Uhry is at the Guthrie in conjunction with the "debut" of his reworked Edgardo Mine, which opens later this week. While most of the conversation focused squarely on that production -- based on the true story of a young Jewish boy in 19th Century Italy whose Christian baptism resulted in a battle between the his parents and the Catholic Church -- there were several opportunities for this distinguished gentleman to talk candidly about his own experiences not only as a Jewish father, but also as an award-winning writer.
On the latter point, when asked what advice he had for a budding playwright, he implored the questioner to pray. "There are a lot of lean years," Urhy said, dryly. "You do pray. If you love it, keep at it, and if you're lucky, you'll find something else."
On a question of why his Pulitzer Prize-winning Driving Miss Daisy never landed on the Great White Way, Uhry noted, "It was Off-Broadway for three years and you don't move a hit. I don't really care (that it never played Broadway)."
On theatre itself, Uhry waxed poetic: "A play's only words. You need actors to act them....A play is to be seen, not to be read. There's something about a play that's electric....It's absolutely magic."
Amen!
I've always been impressed with Uhry's deft touch on each of his shows I've seen. After listening to his take on Edgardo Mine, I'm looking forward to seeing his play, which by the sound of it has been written with an immense degree of deliberation and thought. Although he ultimately noted that "It's not a philosophical discussion -- it's a play," Alfred Uhry appears to be striving for much more as evidenced by his acknowledgement that "if we could sit here in 150 years and have Muslims sitting with us saying, 'Look how far we've come,' that would be wonderful."
As an interesting postscript, when Uhry was introduced, it was also mentioned that he's written the book for a musical called Love Musik that's about to enjoy a "premiere on Broadway in early 2007." I'll do some investigating on this point since it's the first I've heard of any additional musical likely for the current season.
Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles Limited run extended through May 31, 2011 (Show will go on hiatus starting January 15 and reopen at Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8)
Rock Of Ages - Open-ended run (Show will go on hiatus starting January 9 and reopen at Helen Hayes Theatre in March)
As someone who has been involved in both politics and public relations, it's no wonder I love watching theatre. Good or bad, it's the raw energy of seeing a live performance that gets my adrenaline pumping. From the moment I saw my very first Broadway show ("Annie" in London in 1979), I was hooked. Now I see as many as 70 shows each year ranging from soaring musicals to two-hander plays. And these eyes just may be in an audience near you!
