Pollard Theater brings ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ to stage

Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Fasten your seatbelts! The Pollard Theater Center is bringing “Driving Miss Daisy” to the stage.

The show kicked off Thursday and continues through the weekend in the Founders Center at Pollard United Methodist Church in Tyler.

“Driving Miss Daisy” centers around Daisy and Hoke, her chauffeur. After Daisy crashes her car, Hoke is hired by her son, Boolie, to be his mother’s driver.

Producer Bryan Michels said “Driving Miss Daisy” is an iconic play and movie.

“It’s fairly famous because of the movie with Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman,” he said. “It was written in 1987 by Alfred Uhry, who based it off his grandmother and her chauffeur.”

The play takes place over several years.

“It starts in 1948 and goes all the way to 1973 in Atlanta, through all the tough times that were going on there,” Michels said. “Daisy is Jewish … and Hoke is Black. And they go through all the trials and tribulations of those years, being a Black and a Jew.”

Michels said Miss Daisy grew up poor.

“But her husband did well in his business and she ends up being fairly rich for the time,” he said. “And Hoke … has been poor and had jobs here and there.”

Hoke was a driver during the war but is now having a difficult time finding a job.

“But when he hears about this, he jumps at the chance to try to drive again,” Michels said.

But Miss Daisy is a little prejudiced, stubborn and hard-headed, Michels said.

“And at first they do not click at all. He tries and tries to get her to let him drive her wherever she wants and she refuses,” Michels said. “She’s been driving most of her life and she doesn’t understand why she has to have somebody drive her around.”

But it’s Hoke’s job to do just that.

“And he’s going to do his job the best he can, no matter what she says,” Michels added.

The entire cast consists of only three actors, all new to the Pollard stage.

“None of our actors have been on the Pollard stage before, which is really exciting,” Michels said. “Daisy is played by Cindy Phillips, Hoke Colburn is being played by Lloyd Williams and Daisy’s son, Boolie, is played by Britt Larison.”

Of the three actors, Michels has worked with two of them before.

“I have worked with Britt and Lloyd before at Tyler Civic (Theatre Center) when we did ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’” he said.

The set for “Driving Miss Daisy” is a simple one.

“It’s Daisy’s interior home, a car set up that’s very minimal at most (seats and a steering on a pole) and Boolie’s office where he meets with Hoke every now and then,” Michels said. “Most of the time if you watch this on any stage, it’s very minimal; it was written that way.”

“Driving Miss Daisy” is directed by Amanda Spangler.

“She’s done several of our shows, most notably ‘Outside Mullingar,’ which we did two years back,” Michels said.

“The whole show is based around events that actually happened between ’48 and ’73,” Michels said. “But it’s mostly about the characters themselves and the situations they deal with in those times.”

What: “Driving Miss Daisy,” presented by Pollard Theater Center

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Where: Founders Center, Pollard United Methodist Church, 3030 New Copeland Road, Tyler

Tickets: $18

Information: https://www.facebook.com/pollardtheatercenter/