Carolyn Michel goes for a ride as 'Miss Daisy'

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Carolyn Michel stars as Daisy Werthan in the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe production of "Driving Miss Daisy." PHOTO PROVIDED BY WBTT

Carolyn Michel stars as Daisy Werthan in the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe production of "Driving Miss Daisy." PHOTO PROVIDED BY WBTT

Though some powerful issues on racism and civil rights provide a backdrop, cast members of Alfred Uhry’s “Driving Miss Daisy” at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe say it’s really all about an unlikely friendship.

“It’s a love story. It’s about a friendship that starts as something else, and develops into a beautiful, deep, long-lasting relationship,” said Kraig Swartz, who plays Boolie Werthan, who helps to stir that friendship when he hires a black chauffeur named Hoke for his 72-year-old mother, Daisy, because it’s no longer safe for her to drive.

“It’s an amazing relationship, but hanging over the actual story we’re telling is this barely acknowledged, but never missing question of race,” he said.

Swartz, who has been seen in Asolo Repertory Theatre productions of “Fully Committed,” “Visiting Mr. Green” and “Syncopation,” returns to Sarasota for the performance starring longtime Asolo Rep actress Carolyn Michel as Daisy and “Hill Street Blues” veteran Taurean Blacque as Hoke Coilburn.

Howard Millman, the former producing artistic director of Asolo Rep, directs the production. He previously directed “The Whipping Man” for WBTT, which also featured Blacque.

From left, Taurean Blacque, Carolyn Michel and Kraig Swartz in "Driving Miss Daisy" at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. DON DALY PHOTO/WBTT

From left, Taurean Blacque, Carolyn Michel and Kraig Swartz in "Driving Miss Daisy" at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. DON DALY PHOTO/WBTT

Though Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play is nearly 30 years old and is set between 1948 and 1973, the racial elements remain “unfortunately still very relevant,” Michel said. “I wish it weren’t so. Prejudices change and yet stay the same and there’s obviously still a lot of racism around it. It just extends to other people today. Now it extends to Muslims and any people who are considered “not like us.”

The play takes the characters through a tumultuous time in American history, from segregation through the growth of the Civil Rights Movement to some sense of potential equality.

Millman said the characters are “products of their time” and may not see themselves as racist, even as they say things that may lead the audience to think otherwise.

“Nobody’s maliciously racist,” Michel said.

“The play begins in 1948 and we’re dealing with three people who would describe themselves as loving, open-minded people, but these are people who are inarticulate when it comes to what modern people would say about the question of race,” Swartz said. “Daisy doesn’t think of herself as prejudiced and to a certain degree that’s true, but we’re also fed prejudice like mother’s milk, then and still now, and that comes with a set of assumptions about the other that we have not yet really examined and that’s very painful to look at.”

Michel said that Daisy’s initial hesitation at Hoke’s arrival as Daisy’s driver has nothing to do with his race.

Kraig Swartz, as Boolie Werthan, has a hard time dealing with his obstinate mother, played by Carolyn Michel, in "Driving Miss Daisy" at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. DON DALY PHOTO/WBTT

Kraig Swartz, as Boolie Werthan, has a hard time dealing with his obstinate mother, played by Carolyn Michel, in "Driving Miss Daisy" at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. DON DALY PHOTO/WBTT

“It’s her objection to having a chauffeur. It’s about her lack of control, about having to give up her car keys,” she said. “It’s about elder care. He could have been a white person and she would have had the same reaction.”

But race still “creeps into the show all the time,” Millman added, even as a deep affection builds between the two. During the course of the show, Daisy ages from 72 to 97 and Hoke grows from 60 to 85.

“It’s about life’s journey, and the journey they take together,” Michel said.

The play had its premiere in 1988 and was quickly turned into an Academy Award-winning film, which may provide a bit of background for audience members.

“Most people don’t realize it started as a play,” Millman said.

Michel said the film “creates a fond memory for people who loved the movie, but they’ll be amazed at the unique theatricality that comes into play on stage, like the idea of the car being just a couple of chairs.”

While Millman prays that audiences will laugh even as they’re moved by the story, Michel is more confident.

“They can’t not laugh. The older audience we have understands the difficulties of aging, the fact that you do not want to give up. Your car keys are like your last vestige of independence. That’s where Daisy starts the play. People relate to that.”

Later this summer, the cast will take the show to Peterborough Players for a three-week run in the New Hampshire playhouse.

THEATER PREVIEW

"Driving Miss Daisy" runs April 20-May 28 (with three preview performances added April 16, 17 and 19) at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, 1646 10th Way, Sarasota. Tickets are $36, $27 for previews, $22 for students or active military. For more information: 941-366-1505; westcoastblacktheatre.org

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Jay Handelman

Jay Handelman is the theater and television critic for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where he has worked since 1984. He also is President of the Foundation of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time past chairman of the association's executive committee. He can be reached by email or call (941) 361-4931. Follow him at @jayhandelman on Twitter. Make sure to "Like" Arts Sarasota on Facebook for news and reviews of the arts.
Last modified: April 29, 2016
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