What a rare treat it is to see an international revival of a Pulitzer Prize-winning play land on our shores, not just transporting the same staging, but two thirds of the same cast too. Both relatively fresh from the West End and Broadway productions of Driving Miss Daisy, James Earl Jones and Boyd Gaines have arrived in Australia, bringing with them Angela Lansbury in her Miss Daisy debut, all primed for a national tour encompassing four cities, ending in early June.
In Driving Miss Daisy, playwright Alfred Uhry introduces us to elderly Jewish widow Daisy Werthan (Angela Lansbury), who, after an accident, fears she is losing her independence when her well-intentioned son Boolie (Boyd Gaines) employs an African American driver, Mr Hoke Coleburn (James Earl Jones) to act as her chauffer. So begins an exercise in trust, forcing Miss Daisy to slowly confront her prejudice (while never verbally acknowledging it exists) and welcome a reliance – even a friendship. Most remembered as a work exploring discrimination within the dark heart of America’s south in the Fifties and early Sixties, this production reminds us the play is just as much about the sometimes ugly march toward ‘old age’. We give up our dignity, our grace, but never our humour, our heart.
If the memory of Bruce Beresford’s film adaptation still rings clear and true, it may surprise how little the film strays from the original play, with much of the same dialogue, comedy, scene progression. The only thing that may seem off is the pace. The play runs a neat 90 minutes – no intermission – and that means certain moments never quite land. An early scene which sees the roles of Hoke and Miss Daisy reversed is never given the opportunity to play out. That’s not to imply other moments aren’t handled with care. Just as Hoke might extend a sturdy hand to help Ms Daisy out of her Hudson, director David Esbjornson (whose credits include the world premiere of Tony Kushner’s masterpiece Angels in America) holds this entire work within his tender palm. Music is limited. Absent is Hans Zimmer’s score from the 1990 film, which figured heavily in the play’s TV campaign. Scenically it’s as you might expect – elegant and simple set pieces that slide and turn on a moving floor, appearing and reappearing, never distracting. The expansive and blank backdrop makes space for some transformative trickery by lighting designer Peter Kaczorowski.
Though hardly a nervous newcomer, in the footsteps of Vanessa Redgrave, who portrayed Daisy Werthan right up until December 2011, it’s clear Ms Lansbury has something to prove. She’s steely, feisty and, drawing upon her overwhelming musical comedy chops, often blissfully funny. James Earl Jones, who filled Hoke’s shoes on Broadway and the West End for the best part of 15 months, is certainly more relaxed, but never less than honest. It’s simply a pleasure to watch him – a titan – playful and endearing from his first utterances. And though on the poster his name is in a smaller font, it would be criminal to forget Boyd Gaines. Gaines, after all, is a four-time Tony Award winner himself (Lansbury has five, Jones has two) and as Ms Daisy’s loyal yet long-suffering son, he anchors the play.
Lansbury and Jones appeared together just last year in Gore Vidal’s The Best Man and here it’s easy to feel a rapport and confidence in each other’s ability. There’s a familiarity, an ease to Driving Miss Daisy. You feel safe, just as Miss Daisy must learn to feel with Hoke at the wheel. And though the experience is all too brief, it’s time well spent.
Rating: 4 ½ stars out of 5
John Frost by special arrangement with Jed Bernstein and Adam Zotovich present
Driving Miss Daisy
By Alfred Uhry
Directed by David Esbjornson
Cast: Angela Lansbury, James Earl Jones and Boyd Gaines
Playhouse, Queensland Performing Arts Centre
3 – 24 February
ADDITIONAL DATES:
Sydney: Theatre Royal, 1 – 31 March
Melbourne: Comedy Theatre, 5 April – 12 May
Adelaide: Her Majesty’s Theatre, 17 May – 2 June
daisyonstage.com.au
