Mary Kay Fortier Spalding as Daisy, Eric Wood as Hoke, and Dann Peterson as Boolie in Happy for That Theatre’s production of Driving Miss Daisy.

Happy for That Theatre’s production of Driving Miss Daisy is a straightforward piece of theatre. It is interesting, often humorous, and strongly delivered with its simple staging.

The basic setup of this play is that an elderly white Southern lady, Daisy (Mary Kay Fortier Spalding) is forced to use an African American chauffeur, Hoke (Eric Wood), after age catches up with her driving abilities. Most of the play consists of vignettes between the crotchety Daisy and Hoke, with occasional appearances by Daisy’s son Boolie (Dann Peterson). The multi-decade story tracks the evolution of their relationship across a period of sweeping social changes in the United States, including the advent of the Civil Rights Movement, and into the trials of dementia.

Director George Spalding has chosen to stage the play exclusively in the downstage areas of the Ives Auditorium, without amplification. This is a shrewd choice for these veteran actors: their unamplified voices could be heard clearly throughout the theatre, with a full range of inflection and shading that contributed to the piece’s intimacy.

Playwrights are often shallow when depicting older men and women, but Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning script is the exception. Spalding is picture-perfect in her portrayal of Daisy struggling to maintain dignity and control over the decades, even while being forced to (reluctantly) change with the times. Wood plays a great foil to her Daisy, with small facial twitches that say volumes as he responds patiently to Daisy’s latest odd instructions. Peterson has much less to say on stage, but makes a good exasperated soul; in his major monologue near the end of the play, he shows what he can do with some material to sink his teeth into.

Driving Miss Daisy bears no major surprises: it is simply a straightforward, interesting, and entertaining two hours of theatre, well-acted and well-delivered.

—

Driving Miss Daisy plays through Sunday, Oct. 21 at the Ives Auditorium at the Masonic Heritage Center in Bloomington, MN.

• About
• Latest Posts

Basil Considine

Basil Considine was the Editor of the Twin Cities Arts Reader from 2018-2022. He served as Performing Arts Editor and Senior Classical Music and Drama Critic for the Arts Reader's first five years, before succeeding Hanne Appelbaum. He was previously the Resident Classical Music and Drama Critic at the Twin Cities Daily Planet and remains an occasional contributing writer for The Boston Musical Intelligencer and The Chattanoogan. He holds a PhD in Music and Drama from Boston University, an MTS in Sacred Music from the BU School of Theology, and a BA in Music and Theatre from the University of San Diego.

Basil was named one of Musical America's 30 Professionals of the Year in 2017. He was previously the Regional Governor for the National Opera Association's North Central Region and the 2021-2022 U.S. Fulbright Faculty Scholar to Madagascar.

Latest posts by Basil Considine (see all)

• DC REVIEW: Anything but Business as Normal in the American Opera Initiative (Washington National Opera) - January 22, 2024
• NYC REVIEW: Spectacular Fulfillment in The Promise (PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL) - January 14, 2024
• NYC REVIEW: Adoration, Myths, and Reality (PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL) - January 13, 2024