The Flagler Playhouse ends its 2022 season showing “Driving Miss Daisy” for six days. The premier night is Friday, November 4th at 7:30, with performances continuing the following Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon at 2:00. The performances resume the next weekend, starting at 7:30 on the 11th and 12th and finishing on Sunday the 13th at 2:00.
This theatre seats only 140 people and tickets are selling fast for each showing of “Driving Miss Daisy.” Get your tickets for this incredible experience before they sell out.
Written by Alfred Uhry, the Pulitzer Prize and Outer Critics Circle-winning “Driving Miss Daisy” is set in Atlanta, starting in 1948, preceding the civil rights movement. It begins suddenly with a crash, where the play’s namesake, elderly Daisy Werthan, wrecks her car. Her middle-aged son, Boolie, informs her that she will no longer be allowed to drive herself around and must rely on a chauffeur to transport her to appointments. This chauffeur is 60-year-old Hoke Coleburn.
72-year-old Daisy Werthan is a southern aristocrat of Jewish descent who cares very little for Hoke due to her prejudices. She is also initially very patronizing and crotchety towards her new driver. She despises needing to rely on a black man to drive her around, and for his first few weeks of employment, Hoke sits at her house doing nothing.
Hoke Coleburn, in turn, is a thoughtful, patient man who starts the play with no job. When Miss Daisy begins to treat him poorly, he weathers her attitude and does his job despite her protestations. He is steady and full of dignity, refusing to be broken by her attitude.
Despite their opposing backgrounds and initial disdain for one another, the pair’s relationship improves in the 25 years that occur in the play. In several scenes throughout the timeline, the two realize the things they have in common and begin to rely on each other throughout the years. Miss Daisy eventually gives in to having hired help, and Hoke eventually wears down her prickly facade. Miss Daisy even teaches Hoke to read and write, in an extension of goodwill, and invites him to her banquet honoring the great Martin Luther King, Jr.
The play ends in a dramatic and touching scene of friendship, camaraderie, and love between the two, where they come to a level of understanding that they never believed they would reach. Despite the racial tensions of the time and their initially shaky relationship, this pair gets a level of intimacy that rivals many elderly relationships.
Alfred Uhry wrote this play and two others about his experiences as a Jew living in Atlanta, Georgia. The play only has three characters and explores the connections and relationships between these three characters. His grandmother, her chauffeur, and his father inspired the characters. This play was so highly regarded that Uhry eventually turned it into a screenplay in the 80s, winning an Academy Award and boosting the careers of its actors.
“Driving Miss Daisy” is not a musical. While not a violent or explicit play, this production does contain some mature content, including racism, prejudice, and the challenges of aging. It may be a good play for families, but children might find the content too heavy for their liking.
If you’re looking for a production that explores those challenges and depicts the struggles of an older woman trying to learn her place in a rapidly changing world, then this play is for you.
Nearing the end of the 2022 season, the City Repertory Theatre is proud to present its production of “Charley’s Aunt.” This play’s premiere is on Friday, October 28th at 7:30 and continues on October 29th, November 4th, and November 5th at the same time. The play also shows at 3:00 on October 30th and November 6th.
“Charley’s Aunt” is a farce written by Brandon Thomas. Farcical plays use absurd humor, satire, parodies, and the abundant use of physical shtick to bring the point across. Despite the exaggerated nature of the content, farcical plays always have an element of realism in their content. The contrast between the realism and the exaggeration of “Charley’s Aunt” brings this production to life.
“Charley’s Aunt” is the story of two men looking for the woman of their dreams. Jack Chesney and Charles “Charley” Wykeham are both Oxford undergraduates and intent on wooing their ideal partner. However, neither knows how to do it. They plan a lunch party with their two belles in an attempt for both of them to confess their love to them.
However, their plans are foiled by Charley’s aunt, Donna Lucia d’Alvadorez. The wealthy Brazilian widow is visiting him, so they need someone to distract her while they have dinner with the girls. To that end, they invite their friend Fancourt Babberley—or Babbs—to be a date for their aunt at this dinner party.
Plans are even more mixed up when Jack’s father arrives, declaring his poor financial situation, which he needs his son to fix. Jack decides that the best way to improve his father’s economic slump is to set him up with Charley’s aunt. Jack hopes they hit it off well enough to save his father from total financial devastation. Despite his plans, Charley’s aunt is delayed, and they have to find some way to patch this already poorly-planned luncheon.
One of the male attendees dresses up as Charley’s aunt, attempting to woo Jack’s father. He does a remarkable job playing the part. Of course, his plans are foiled when Charley’s aunt Donna shows up earlier than she expected she would.
Despite the many setbacks, Jack and Charley finally profess their love for their belles, and other characters find a partner of their own. Everything works out for all the characters, and they all go their way in the epic conclusion of this tale.
As you can tell, the
never stop in this production of “Charley’s Aunt.” This play is not a musical and does deal with some adult themes, even if they are outlandish and highly exaggerated. Many children may find some of the comedy sketches of this production entertaining, but most probably won’t. As such, teenagers are the youngest crowd likely to be entertained by this play. However, adults of all ages will be more than engaged by the masterful writing of Brandon Thomas.
— Joseph Cogswell