Driving Miss Daisy (play)

For the 1989 movie, see Driving Miss Daisy.
Driving Miss Daisy
Written by Alfred Uhry
Characters
  • Hoke Colburn
  • Daisy Werthan
  • Boolie Werthan
Date premiered April 15, 1987
Place premiered Playwrights Horizons
New York City
Original language English
Series

Atlanta Trilogy:

Genre Drama

Driving Miss Daisy is a 1987 play by Alfred Uhry about the relationship of an elderly white Southern Jewish woman, Daisy Werthan, and her African-American chauffeur, Hoke Colburn, from 1948 to 1973. The play was the first in Uhry's Atlanta Trilogy, which deals with white Jewish residents of that city in the early 20th century.

Productions

Off-Broadway (1987–1990)

The original off-Broadway production, which opened on April 15, 1987,[1] starred Dana Ivey and Morgan Freeman. The production was staged at Playwrights Horizons on 42nd Street in New York, and later transferred down the street to the John Houseman Theatre. Uhry received the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work. The play closed on June 3, 1990, with 1,195 performances.[2]

West End (1988)

It was then performed in London's West End in 1988 at the Apollo Theatre, with Dame Wendy Hiller as Miss Daisy Werthan, Clarke Peters as Hoke and Barry Foster as Boolie.[3]

Broadway (2010–2011)

In October 2010, James Earl Jones (as Hoke), Vanessa Redgrave (as Daisy), and Boyd Gaines (as Boolie) appeared in a revival of the play, marking the Broadway debut of the show and the first time Jones and Redgrave have appeared on stage together. The show premiered to rave reviews[4] on October 25, 2010, at the John Golden Theatre; the run was later extended and Driving Miss Daisy closed on April 9, 2011,[5] after 20 previews and 180 performances. It recouped its initial investment of $2.6 million on December 21, 2010, making it the first show of the 2010/2011 season to do so.[6] The show was the top-grossing Broadway play in the week ending January 16, 2011.[7]

West End revival (2011)

The production played at the Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End with the same cast, beginning previews on September 26, 2011, opening on October 5, 2011, and closing on December 17, 2011. [8]

UK tour (2012–13)

The show toured UK theatres from October 2012 until April 2013, starring Gwen Taylor, Don Warrington, and Ian Porter.[9]

Australian tour (2013)

The Broadway production of Driving Miss Daisy toured Australia from February to June 2013, starring Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones and Boyd Gaines.

Awards won

Film adaptation

Main article: Driving Miss Daisy

Uhry adapted it into the screenplay for a 1989 film of the same name starring Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman and Dan Aykroyd, an adaptation which was awarded the Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990.

References

  1. ↑ Uhry, Alfred. Driving Miss Daisy, p. 4, Dramatists Play Service, Inc.
  2. ↑ Brantley, Ben. "Stooped and a Bit Slow, but Still Standing Tall", The New York Times, October 25, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Driving Miss Daisy coming to Dundas Theatre". Bahama Islands. June 19, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Rave reviews for Vanessa Redgrave, 'sassy' at 73 after year of family heartbreak". London Evening Standard. October 26, 2010.
  5. ↑ Healy, Patrick, "Driving Ms. Redgrave Through a Reluctant Conversation", The New York Times, February 15, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2011
  6. ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Driving Miss Daisy Recoups Investment" playbill.com, December 21, 2010.
  7. ↑ Samelson, Judy. "Chart Toppers: Top-Grossing Broadway Productions, Week of January 10–16". Playblog. January 21, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Driving Miss Daisy to Park in London in Fall 2011" by Robert Viagas, Playbill, 12 June 2011
  9. ↑ "Driving Miss Daisy tours UK with Gwen Taylor & Don Warrington" by Stephanie Soh, whatsonstage.com, 12 June 2012

External links

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