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.
While fairly unknown to American audiences, Hughes received an Olivier nomination in 2001 for her performance in the British mounting of Fosse.
Peters is best known to American audiences for his turn as Lester Freamon on television's "The Wire," but theatrical audiences know him for his Tony nominated book for Five Guys Named Moe back in 1992, as well as his subsequent Broadway roles as Billy Flynn in the current Chicago revival and as Joe Mott alongside Kevin Spacey in the critically-acclaimed revival of The Iceman Cometh in 1999.
While my appetite has already been whetted for Porgy And Bess, it's Clarke's inclusion that makes this a must-see event for me. That's because of my fond, vivid memories of his outstanding nuanced performance in the captivating 1988 London mounting of Driving Miss Daisy.
In it, Peters was paired with theatrical legend and Academy Award-winning actress Dame Wendy Hiller in the titular role (Hiller was one of George Bernard Shaw's favorite actresses for which she was rewarded with leading roles in Pymalion and Major Barbara). This excellent, small-scale production of Driving Miss Daisy was wowing London's Apollo Theatre audiences one year prior to the Academy Award-winning movie version with Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy.
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!
