Ford's Theatre drives a marvelous 'Daisy'

Craig Wallace is Hoke Coleburn and Nancy Robinette is Daisy Werthan in Ford Theatre's Driving Miss Daisy/Photo by Scott Suchman

Driving Miss Daisy at Ford's Theatre is so good, I could see it again.  For theatre lovers and others, you have less than a week to see the show.

I cannot recall any theatre performances when the audience applauded after every scene change like it did for Miss Daisy, but applaud it did, and there are a few scene changes.

From beginning to end, Daisy is a charmer, full of humor and life and relationships and all that's important, and it will keep you laughing while simultaneously serving as a painful reminder of last century's civil rights turbulence in the South.

The story is based upon the family of the playwright, Alfred Uhry (b. 1936 in Atlanta):  A black man (Craig Wallace is Hoke) is hired to drive a white Jewish lady, age 72, (Nancy Robinette is Daisy) around town after her son (Ron Heneghan is Boolie) deems her too incapacitated to drive.  She's got a tongue, all right. It sizzles and strikes without mercy, sending the audience into frequent hysterics: "She sounds like she has a bowl stuck in her throat," and "If I had a nose like Maureen's, I wouldn't say 'Merry Christmas' to anybody."

The crew of three delivers knock-out performances, and the elders' (Daisy and Hoke) aging on stage occurs so subliminally, their increasingly right-angle postures and slower paces almost go unnoticed.  Boolie doesn't stay young forever, either.

At first glance the set (by Tony Cisek) appears almost too minimalist, but that initial misconception quickly dissolves as dialogue takes over, and the set becomes secondary.  That said, rapid small changes give way to totally new times and circumstances spanning the years 1948-1973 when Atlanta first elected a black mayor.  An elegant living room evolves into an office. The car is traded for a newer one. A cemetery with tombstones and chrysanthemums blossoms into a kitchen which is a later empty mansion, and on and on.  The quantity and substance of props are understated as they should be, but add immensely to the overall enjoyment and scene progressions.

Costuming (by Helen Huang) is realistic and timely, and Miss Daisy's little old lady dress with its later added accessories (hat, coat, sweater) join set changes nicely to convert moods and places. In his first scene, Hoke's big, hand-me-down suit tells his station-in-life and need for a job. 

Some of the memorable lighting Dan Covey creates include the backdrop of strings of Christmas lights, a starry sky, and a overhead light shining on Daisy in a scary nighttime stop somewhere in Alabama. Short background musical selections a la NPR, from gospel to cello, violin, and banjo, although taped, helped ease scene transitions in excellent fashion.

At the end, Robinette is a 90-year-old with shaking hands, thinning hair, and impaired speech.  She needs help eating but is still a tough old bird.  I watched and wished my own mother, long in the grave and a Southerner, could see Driving Miss Daisy. She would love it.

The play debuted off-Broadway in 1987 and won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. With The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Parade, it is part of Uhry's trilogy about life in the South.

The performances by Robinette and Wallace are well worth Helen Hayes' nominations. 

Jennifer L. Nelson directed Driving Miss Daisy, and other key crew members are Elisheba Ittoop, sound; Anne Nesmith, wig and makeup; Lynn Watson, dialects; Brandon Prendergast, production stage manager; and Hannah R. O'Neil, assistant stage manager.

What:  Driving Miss Daisy

When: Evenings at 7:30 p.m. with matinees on Thursday,  Saturday, and Sunday, through Oct. 26, 2014

Where: Ford's Theatre, 511 Tenth Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004

How much: Tickets start at $33.65 with discounts for groups, military personnel, senior citizens, and those younger than 35.

Duration:  About 90 minutes with no intermission

For more information: 202-347-4833

Metro stations: Metro Center, Gallery Place-Chinatown, or Archives-Navy Memorial

For more theatre in Washington, D.C. check out the DC Metro Theater Art's website here.

patricialesli@gmail.com
 

Olney's 'Tempest' enchants crowd

In Olney Theater Center's The Tempest, King Alonso (Ian LeValley), center, and his men are stunned by magic they find on the island where Prospero and his daughter, Miranda, have been stranded/Photo by Stan Barouh 

The more you see (and hear) him, the more you love William Shakespeare, and the presentation by Olney Theatre Center in its outdoor arena will intensify your ardor.

Olney's Tempest is a delightful frolic for actors and audience members alike, and although the show is billed as best for those ages eight and above, some who appeared several years younger were spied enjoying themselves as much as their parents.

To listen to the words of the master accompanied by nature's nightly medley of the bugs is a heavenly experience although evil spirits lurk nearby.

The setting is the sea and an island where Prospero (Craig Wallace), a little too boisterous at times, has been marooned with his daughter, Miranda (Leah Filley), for 12 years, after his brother, Antonio (Paul Morella), and the King of Naples, Alonso (Ian LeValley), colluded to rob Prospero of his kingdom of Milan and banish father and daughter to the neverland. 

Prospero uses special powers gained from reading all the books supplied in their drift away boat by his kind counselor, Gonzalo (Alan Wade) to craft a "tempest" and bring those to shore who done him wrong. (You see what books can do!)

Knowing I loved my books, he furnish'd me
From mine own library with volumes that
I prize above my dukedom

It's payback time.

A mystical spirit, Ariel (Julie-Ann Elliott), visible only to Prospero (and the audience), a standout on stage, flits and floats like a fairy in her lighted dress, an ethereal presence who assists Prospero.  Her splendid red-winged costume (by Pei Lee) gave us to know Ariel was soon going to take flight to freedom. 

On the set are big, billowy cloths which hang floor to "ceiling" stage at angles like sails on the ship. 

The crew, all men in black, heave back and forth on the floating boat floor while the ship wrecks, stirring motions of seasickness among observers on land.

Stacked large white umbrellas shield stage exits as the backdrop which change color to effectively match the next scene's mood. 

What is Shakespeare without a myriad of characters to keep your mind swirling? And a little love? 

One character with a little sudden love in his heart is King Alonso's son, Ferdinand (Alexander Korman) who becomes only the second man Miranda has ever laid eyes on, and quite naturally, it is love at first sight.  This is Shakespeare!

"Forsooth, Papa, never have I laid eyes on a being so marvelous as there goeth," says Miranda (Leah Filley) to her father, Prospero (Craig Wallace) while she admires Ferdinand (Alexander Korman) in Olney Theater Center's The Tempest. Note the umbrella backdrop/Photo by Stan Barouh 

Despite the crimes committed against him, Prospero resists vengeance and chooses to forgive (and maybe, not forget) the wrongful acts committed against him and his daughter, reminding us 400 years later, the importance of overlooking imaginary and real slights we experience in everyday life and the benefits we gain once we delete the "hanging on."

Let us not burden our remembrances with a heaviness that's gone

We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep

Before the play begins, strolling minstrels play guitar and horn while they sing (with some audience participation), "I Can See Clearly Now," and "Don't Stop Believin'" which enter the script nicely later on when the show may stop momentarily for necessary equipment adjustments.  

Elisheba Ittoop with Elvin J. Crespo and Will Rosas made the
storm crashing and gnashing sounds which cackle and bring the bad guys to shore with loud and lifelike effects, complemented by tiny raindrops which kept falling on our heads.

The play is a quick two+ hours which breezes by rapidly, made more charming by outside freedom.

Directing is Jason King Jones, the associate director and director of education at Olney.  Other members of the creative team are Charlie Calvert, scenic designer; Sonya Dowhaluk, lighting designer; and Casey Kaleba, fight choreographer, all to be heartily applauded with the remaining cast members, Ryan Mitchell, Paul Morella, Jacob Mundell, Christopher Richardson, Adam Turck, and Dan Van Why.

Composing half the cast are National Players veterans who are the mentors of current National Players ("America's longest running touring company") who appear in younger roles and are on tour in celebration of the Players' 66th year.  The National Players are based at the Olney.

The program includes a pictorial directory complete with titles and relationships to simplify comprehension.

It's believed that The Tempest is the last play William Shakespeare wrote independently, and is considered one of his finest.

What:  The Tempest by William Shakespeare

When:  8 p.m. Wednesday, July 30, through Sunday, August 3, 2014

Where: The outdoor Root Family Stage at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832

How much: Tickets are $20, and there is no charge for children under age 11. 

You may bring lawn chairs, refreshments, bug repellant.

Refreshments:  Available for purchase

Parking: Abundant, free, and on-site

For more information: 301-924-3400

For more reviews of The Tempest and other plays, go to DC Metro Theater Arts.

patricialesli@gmail.com