April-May 2022 - LET US ENTERTAIN YOU: Driving Mrs. Daisy

Driving Mrs. Daisy, Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, was inspired by the playwright’s grandmother, Lena Fox, her chauffeur, Will Coleman, and his father. His grandmother, a Jewish woman who lived in Atlanta during the 1960s, had to give up driving after a car accident, and hired Coleman, who drove her for 25 years.

Director Cheryl Atkins says “Driving Miss Daisy has always been a play I had hoped to direct. When I was approached by the artistic team at the Adobe Theater to direct this Pulitzer Prize winning play, I was thrilled. Although the story begins in the forties, and spans 25 years, the issues surrounding these characters are more relevant today than ever. Over the last several years, our country has witnessed so many incidents of racism and Anti-Semitism that it seems as though we have made very little progress as a society.

Every day in the news, we hear stories about horrific crimes that are committed against Black and Jewish Americans. We need to continue to tell important stories like Driving Miss Daisy, that illustrate the common bonds we have and how we must accept and support each other, no matter our differences. The characters of Hoke and Daisy do learn to accept their differences and bond over the similarities of their struggles and become best friends.

More than ever before, we need to find the common bond we all desire, which is to live our lives free of judgement and persecution. This beautiful story shows how simply listening and learning from one another is an important step we can all take to become a more inclusive society.”

The splendid cast includes Carolyn R. Ward (pre-Covid-19, Carolyn was seen in Separate Tables and Under Milk Wood at North Fourth Arts Center) performs the formidable Miss Daisy. Hoke, the chauffeur, is played by Steven L. Higgins, and Richard Atkins plays Miss Daisy’s son, Boolie.

Performances are April 29th - May 22th, 2022 on Fridays and Saturdays at 7.30pm, Sundays at 2pm, Pay What You Will Thursday is May 19th at 7.30pm

Please check their website, www.adobetheater.org, or call 505-898-9222 to purchase tickets and for current COVID-19 guidelines.