For some of the best acting in the Milwaukee suburbs, head over to West Allis’ Village Playhouse for Driving Miss Daisy, playwright Alfred Uhry’s Valentine to respect and friendship. Village Playhouse has 50 seats and is situated within an art gallery. The art deco chandeliers both inside the playhouse and in the concession room are well worth admiring. The building’s restored lights, molding and cast-iron railing help to transport audiences to 1948—the year in which a crochety Southern lady and her black chauffeur begin their 25-year relationship.
Things are prickly in the play’s beginning, before the highly independent Miss Daisy (Mary Buschel) begins to trust Hoke Coleburn, her new driver (Andre Lee Ellis). The whole idea was pushed by Miss Daisy’s adult son, Boolie (Scott Sorensen), who fears for his mother’s life after she crashed her old Packard while backing the car out of the driveway.
Many readers will be more familiar with the 1989 film, which was adapted by the playwright. Uhry’s play won a Pulitzer Prize for its clear-eyed look at racism, but it also has a lot to say about the aging process, as well as the social norms of the period. As Daisy, Buschel offers a convincing portrait of an aging Southern lady. Although wealthy by current standards, Daisy has never forgotten the sacrifices her family made when she was growing up. Under Mary Breitrick’s direction, Buschel’s character is never sentimental or overly sweet. Her hard-won independence, born of necessity, contributes to her strength in old age.
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While Daisy is the centerpiece of the play, several scenes are practically stolen by the animated Ellis as Hoke. Dressed nattily in a suit and tie of the period, Hoke manages to take Daisy’s demands in stride—to a point. When they are driving to a relative’s birthday party, Hoke tells Daisy he needs to stop by the roadside and relieve himself. She says she doesn’t understand why he didn’t use the bathroom at the filling station they just passed. Hoke must spell out the Jim Crow laws that forbid African Americans from using “whites only” toilets. Similar incidents are included throughout the play that represent the world in which they live.
An equally fine performance is turned in by Sorensen as Boolie. An Atlanta businessman, Boolie is genuinely concerned about his mother’s welfare. Sorensen does a fine job of balancing his role’s devotion to, and frustration with, his mother. Uhry’s play has much to say about the power of love and understanding over the cultural misunderstandings that remain to this day, and this cast delivers all these delicious moments in a well-crafted production.
Through Feb. 24 at the Village Playhouse, 1500 S. 73rd St. For tickets, call 414-207-4879 or visit www.villageplayhouse.org.
