Theater Review -- Tom Titus

Even if at first you do succeed, why not try, try again?

That’s the prevailing mood at the Newport Theatre Arts Center where a

reprise production of Alfred Uhry’s “Driving Miss Daisy” is every bit as

dramatically satisfying, if not more so, as it was in its first

incarnation two years ago at the Costa Mesa Civic Playhouse.

Director Jack Millis has reassembled his three-actor cast from the

Costa Mesa show and transplanted them onto the Newport stage where, if

anything, they’re even more consistently effective in their

characterizations. The experience with the first version has instilled a

warmth and depth in their interpretations that enriches their

performances.

“Driving Miss Daisy” is set in the still-segregated South of 1948 and

travels forward in time to a more enlightened 1973 where racism still

exists, but in a more subtle form. Its story is told by only three

voices, with two others supplying unspoken atmospheric support offstage.

Miss Daisy is a crotchety old Jewish woman whose days of driving her

own car are over -- thanks to her latest accident -- but who rails at the

thought of having a chauffeur, even though his expense would be assumed

by her grown son, a rising Atlanta businessman.

Though she insists she doesn’t have a prejudicial bone in her body,

her rapport with the “colored” driver (as they were known at that time)

is one of resentment at first sight. Only the latter’s cheerfulness and

extraordinarily thick skin insure a continuing relationship -- one that’s

gradually transformed into mutual affection as they learn to depend on

one another.

Few local actresses are as accomplished as Teri Ciranna, who reprises

her feisty Miss Daisy with all the stubborn cantankerousness of her

original rendering, but seems to convey the aging process even more

poignantly as she descends into a fragile senility. Ciranna employs her

slight physicality as a contrast to her indomitable will power and

impregnable sense of superiority in another lustrous performance

garnished by the actress’ complete mastery of the facial nuance.

George Norment as Hoke, the aging, illiterate black man recruited as

her unwelcome chauffeur who becomes her staunch companion -- her “best

friend,” as she professes late in the play -- again demonstrates a sense

of enduring moral strength that bolsters his virtually unflappable

reserve. To these qualities is added a rich sense of ironic humor, which

eventually melts the old lady’s steely facade.

The play’s third character, the widow’s civic leader son, is given a

fine, realistically textured interpretation by Thom Gilbert, the

peacemaker between Daisy and Hoke. Gilbert skillfully blends his sense of

love for his mother and his sincere concern for her safety with a

reflection of the more economically motivated bigotry that still clings

to Southern mind sets.

Ciranna’s excellent performance also creates mental images of the

play’s other two, unseen, characters -- her maid and her daughter-in-law,

neither of whom occupies a lofty position in her estimation.

“Driving Miss Daisy” deserves this additional journey, reuniting the

three actors and their director in a more finely tuned interpretation.

Even if you enjoyed the first production, you’ll benefit by experiencing

the second.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

* What: “Driving Miss Daisy”

* Where: Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach

* When: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays until

Feb. 24

* Cost: $13

* Tickets: (949) 631-0288