DRIVING MISS DAISY by Alfred Uhry (Harold Green Jewish Theatre). Greenwin Theatre, Toronto Centre of the Arts (5040 Yonge). To June 21. $35-$65. 1-855-985-2787. Rating: NNN
Mention Driving Miss Daisy and most recall the 1989 Oscar-winning film rather than Alfred Uhry‘s original Pulitzer Prize-winning off-Broadway play. This is a faithful remount of the play – nothing reimagined or groundbreaking, just a solid, reliable ride.
Set in postwar/pre-civil rights Atlanta, the story follows the relationship between Daisy (Sharry Flett), a wealthy Jewish widow whom her son believes is too old to drive, and Hoke (Sterling Jarvis), a black chauffeur he hires against her wishes. Over the course of the 20 or so years covered in the play, Daisy’s initial icy mistrust morphs into a complicated working relationship and, finally, a sort of friendship. Tender moments, like when Daisy teaches Hoke to read, contrast with her prickly demeanour and lingering racism.
The realistic set depicting the large and comfortable interior of Daisy’s home is what you’d expect. The driving scenes, however, are performed with a minimal set-up – a steering column attached to floor, complete with a wheel, ignition, shifter and turn indicators, efficiently transforms the three seats behind it into a believable car in which Hoke dutifully ferries Daisy around town and, later, on longer road trips.
Sticking to Uhry’s script, director Philip Akin subtly evokes deep symbolic resonances. In a scene where Hoke tries to comfort Daisy after her synagogue is bombed by white supremacists, Akin has Hoke, who’s otherwise in the driver’s seat, slide into the back to share a personal experience of hate. Though the back seat references the racialized spaces of southern public transit, sitting next to Daisy suggests a kind of equality, a shared experience of prejudice. Daisy’s subsequent brusque rebuff of Hoke’s empathy becomes a telling moment.
The only bumps on the road for this production are consistently long scene changes. These go beyond suggesting the slow pace of southern life and inadvertently put the brakes on the story’s momentum.
