Driving Miss Daisy

                                           Wendy Sharfman & Johnnie Hobbs Jr. & the Car

The Puitzer Prize winning Driving Miss Daisy is appearing at the Walnut Street Theatre through February 2.  It first appeared off-Broadway in 1987 and was later staged on Broadway in 2010.   Wendy Sharfman portrays Miss Daisy, an elderly Jewish woman who is having trouble adjusting to losing some of her independence. Ms. Sharfman does an excellent job illustrating how the character ages over a period of 25 years. Johnnie Hobbs Jr. portrays Hoke, the chauffeur who is hired to drive Miss Daisy wherever she needs to go.  Scott Greer portrays Boolie, Miss Daisy’s son, who hires Hoke after his mother had a near-fatal car accident. His mother sees no need for a chauffeur and Boolie serves as a go-between the two. Driving Miss Daisy is composed of several short vignettes. Thanks to the clever design of veteran Roman Tatarowicz, scene changes take place seamlessly, with sets either disappearing into the  air or gliding on and off stage on a series of tracks. The fourth character, not mentioned in the playbill but worthy of mention here, is the Car. Actually,  there are two cars over a period of 25 years. Both have  seats for Miss Daisy and her luggage in the back with seats  for Hoke to drive in the front. The car is in several vignettes as Hoke drives Miss Daisy  to get groceries, to meet lady friends in synagogue, and to put flowers  by  graves in a cemetery. During these times, the audience sees the friendship between Miss Daisy and Hoke develop and the bond between them grow.  For tickets to this marvelous production, visit WalnutStreetTheatre.org  or Ticketmmaster.com or call 215-574-3550.