Driving Miss Daisy at the 1000 Islands Playhouse.An Impeccably Beautiful Production.

Nicola Lipman and Walter Borden

Photo. 1000Islands Playhouse. Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry won the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and the film adaptation won the Oscar for best picture and best actress (Jessica Tandy) in 1990. How can you go wrong with this one? In fact the Thousand Islands Playhouse kept the tradition and produced a most moving version of this heartwarming and emotionally complex play that worked perfectly from every perspective. Nicola Lipman as Daisy Werthan and Walter Borden as Hoke Colburn, created a sense of complicity as their relationship evolved from its uneasy beginnings to a deep feeling of trust as these two characters bonded over the 25 years that Hoke worked as Miss Daisy’s chauffeur. Following along on the journey was Brian Linds as Boolie, Daisy’s business man son, usually at his wits end around his stubborn mother but who loves her greatly and manages to convince us of that throughout all his emotional upheavals created by his mother’s bossy behaviour.

The play, which takes place in Atlanta Georgia, opens with the sounds of metal smashing and tires squealing. Miss Daisy at 72, should no longer be driving, at least that is what her son thinks and he insists she hire a chauffeur. She flatly refuses. From those first moments we see that Daisy Werthan cannot be told what to do, especially in her own house. Her ferocious sense of independence rejects any kind of help to the point where she becomes rude and insulting. Lipman snaps her orders, states her feelings and makes it clear, with the will of a major general, that she will not be contradicted. We can give her some slack because she is an elderly widowed lady but in this case we sense there is something more. Underneath that carapace of her raging rejection of kindness there lies something almost compulsive.

We soon learn that much of it is based on the atmosphere in Atlanta Georgia during those post war Jim Crowe years when southern racial segregation was in full force. However the Holocaust was “discovered “ only three years earlier and since anti-Semitism and racism went hand in hand in that part of the United States and Miss Daisy is Jewish, the results of hate against certain groups were always painfully clear.

We learn that early in the play and we quickly realise that part of her hesitation about going out in that fancy chauffeur driven car was based on an almost pathological fear of being perceived as “wealthy” . She grew up poor but the playwright suggests that the question of social status within and without the Jewish community , along with the pressures of racism that ran through that same community were extremely problematic for her and she learned to keep to herself and mind her own business so she would not be bothered by others.

Then, into the life of this angry, fearful little woman, portrayed by Lipman with no trace of dripping sentimentality, but with strength and feist, come a ray of sunshine and some sound, healthy common sense to set her straight. Walter Borden as Hoke the chauffeur who needs the job, is a life force of good will as he erupts into her world. He is not upset by her insults, and knows just how far she is allowed to boss him around. He also realizes that her religious background sets her in a situation in Atlanta that is similar to his own, being the object of prejudice and hate. That in itself justifies Borden’s performance and he creates a perfect complicity with Lipman which keeps us glued to the stage for 90 minutes (no intermission) as their relationship develops into a true friendship over 25 years.

I cried at the end when he gently feeds her the pumpkin pie because she can’t hold her fork. I laughed and said good for him and too bad for her, when he stopped the car to get out and do what he had to do behind a bushes , in spite of Daisy’s bad tempered refusal. Even when Daisy discovers he can’t read and there is that wonderfully funny reading lesson in the cemetery, Daisy softens her tone and Hoke keeps his dignity intact the whole time. The two play off each other in a most delicate way, creating performances of great strength and bring about this transformation at the end, as their closeness develops into a real friendship.

Borden is also a master of mime and mimic. He mimics ladies with southern accents on the phone, he uses , his eyes, his mouth , all the muscles of his face to suggest his irony, his teasing, his attempts to suppress anger, especially when he realizes that Daisy is in fact still prejudiced. His face becomes a platform where he performs all his emotions, at times turning away from Daisy so she cannot see what he is thinking. The car which is central to the play, is mimed by both of them as they climb in and out of the machine, but Borden’s use of his whole body as he drives,  transforms the car into another stage presence where he can at last have control of the situation by  buying the car! This was another moment of joy and irony which also shows us that director Ashlie Corcoran is a highly sensitive director of actors .

Jung-Hype Kim’s set was also an artful construction of layered frames that suggested a picture album but with the framed areas slightly asymmetrical, suggesting the difficulties they faced together. The lighting, the use of the scrim, the shadowy horizon of the city in the background, all the impeccable orchestration of the staging elements produced a sense that this was an extremely sophisticated work of art!

If the rest of the Thousand Islands Playhouse season reaches the heights of Driving Miss Daisy, the theatre will certainly have a very successful summer.

Driving Miss Daisy continues until June 14 in Gananoque. You can book tickets on line

www.1000islandsplayhouse.com or call the box office at 613-382-7020

Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry

Directed by Ashlie Corcoran

Costumes by Sean Mulcahy

Set and costumes by Jung-Hye Kim

Lighting design by Tim Fort

Sound design by Adam Harendorf

Cast:

Miss Daisy Werthen Nicola Lipman

Hoke Colburn Walter Borden

Boolie Werthen Brian Linds