“Driving Miss Daisy” a sweet love story at Ivoryton Playhouse

IVORYTON — If you are at all hard of hearing, the Ivoryton Playhouse’s production of “Driving Miss Daisy” is for you.
This show about an aging southern widow, Mrs. Daisy Wethan, who is forced against her will by her beleaguered adult son after wrecking her car to take on a chauffeur, is played at top volume throughout, with every word clearly enunciated.
Set in Atlanta, Georgia in the mid-1950s, this story takes us through the last part or her life, from her early 70s until she is in 90s in a nursing home.
Miss Daisy, as her driver, Hoke Coleburn respectfully calls her, is a crusty old Jewish grand dame, who Hoke identifies with and relates to, considering he to has suffered his share of discrimination.
He says to her at one point when her reformed synagogue is bombed by the Klu Klux Klan, “A Jew is a Jew” to them, just as “light or dark” they are all black in their eyes.
He then tells her of a horrendous sight he saw as a child, that let’s you know he is a man who has lived through much in his life.
She helps him when she, a former fifth-grade teacher, learns that Hoke, for all his kindness and wisdom, can’t read.
She is such a crusty, sarcastic old thing, played with a natural and progressive frailty by Rebecca Hoodwin, that she also gains in insight and patience with her steadfast companion Hoke, played by the steady and respectfully Rob Barnes.
Both he and Miss Daisy’s put-upon son, Boolie Werthan, played by Steven L. Barron, care deeply for and clearly love the old gal.
He says, “You’re a doodle, mama,” and often kisses her on the forehead as a sign of affection.
My one complaint is that the two men loudly articulate and emphasize each and every Southern word until all the words sound the same, except Boolie occasionally gets even louder, which I didn’t think was possible.
There were times when a more quiet, easy-going banter would have been a welcome relief.
The set was simple and stark, coincidentally by set designer William Russell Stark, with a chair and table for Miss Daisy’s home, a desk for Boolie’s office, and two chairs for the car Hoke drives Miss Daisy in.
Flashes of a time of social upheaval were evident with the synagogue bombing and a dinner for Martin Luther King, when the social fabric of our society was under transition.
Hoodwin and Barnes gracefully and subtly aged before our eyes over 20 years, but Boolie stayed oddly exactly the same from around 40 to 60 years old. Perhaps a little gray highlighting in his hair would have appropriately aged him a bit.
“Driving Miss Daisy” is a sweet, loving story of three souls who help each other through their lives with kindness, compassion, and a healthy dose of exasperation.

DRIVING MISS DAISY

3 Stars
Location: Ivoryton Playhouse, 103 Main Street, Ivoryton
Production: Written by Alfred Uhry. Directed by Lawrence Thelen. Stage Manager T. Rick Jones. Scenic design by William Russell Stark. Lighting design by Jo Nazro. Wig Design by Joel Sivestro. Costume design by Pamela Puente.
Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
Show Times: Wednesday and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Wednesday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. through Sunday.
Tickets: $38 for adults, $20 for students, and $15 for children 12 and under. Call the box office at 860-767-7318, or visit their website at www.ivorytonplayhouse.org
ACTOR…CHARACTER
Rebecca Hoodwin … Daisy Werthan
Steven L. Barron … Boolie Werthan
Rob Barnes … Hoke Coleburn