Driving Miss Daisy

Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhry, is an affecting study of the unlikely relationship between an aging, crotchety white southern Jewish lady and a proud, spoken black man. In the Deep South in 1948, just prior to the Civil Rights Movement, Daisy Werthan’s “driving privileges” were revoked by her protective son after she was involved in a number of accidents. He hired “Hoke,” a black man, to attend to her driving needs but Daisy regarded Hoke with disdain and he likewise was unimpressed by her patronizing tone and latent prejudice. In a series of scenes spanning 25 years, the two, despite their mutual differences, grow even closer to and more dependent on each other. Buried in this script is the stark truth about stereotypes and ignorance — familiarity, friendship and love can overcome boundaries drawn by religion or race if people are willing to let them. Ann Hearn directs.