Driving Miss Daisy

OnStage Atlanta

through September 5, 2015

In addition to GWTW, probably the most memorable tales dealing with life in our area have to be the trilogy of works by Alfred Uhry. He wrote Driving Miss Daisy, as well as Last Night of Ballyhoo and then Parade. Each a significant work in its own right.

OnStage has reprised this work with the same wonderful cast who played in it in 2014. Bobbie Elzey is Miss Daisy, who ages gracefully through decades on stage. She’s a Jewish older woman who really shouldn’t be driving any more. Her son, Boolie (DeWayne Morgan) insists of hiring a driver for her, even though at the outset she rejects the idea in every way. But, time works wonders. Nat Martin plays Hoke who is a black man hired to service the lady; a role he has played for many a year in various venues.

The time is in the 1950’s and things aren’t that good for Blacks in our town, nor elsewhere in the South. The keynote event of the script is the bombing of The Temple on October 12, 1958 and Dr. King’s speech at The Temple in the 1960’s.

Hoke and Daisy find that the glue which binds them to one another is far greater than any grit which could keep them apart and they wind up as the best of friends.

Directed by Cathe Hall Payne, the show moves quite gracefully and you really get to feel as if you know each of these three good people; each of whom is somebody you wish you had for a friend today. Just one more weekend, and not many tickets left; so visit OnStageAtlanta.com for times and prices. Their new home is on East Ponce out near I-285, so easy to get to from almost anywhere.