HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE Previews — Page 2

We saw this on Saturday thru TKTS. 7th row, left side, 5-6 seats from aisle. We had seen the 2nd Stage version 10 years ago, and I think if I remembered it better before we chose this we would have passed.


It is SO well written and acted, but the subject matter is very hard to get through. We thought this version was better because Morse wasn't as creepy as Butz was. You saw Butz you saw an awful person. Morse has moments here where you feel bad for him and then that gets turned right around.



See it, but be prepared for feelings.

I saw the 2nd Stage production 10 years ago, though it's sort of hazy in my mind - aside from a few key scenes. So in many ways I got to experience the play fresh when I saw this production. And it's a pretty fantastic play!

And I agree that Parker, Morse, and Day are all giving excellent performances. This is probably the best work I've seen from Johanna Day in particular. Parker was brilliant, but I couldn't help but think she was a tad better in Sound Inside (the only other show I've seen her in). But still an amazing performance by normal standards. David Morse, I think, ends up walking away with the evening - which I sort of feel bad saying, since it's really Lil Bit's story, and Parker WAS exceptionally good. But damn, Morse is SO good.

Having said that, something about the direction felt a little off? Or maybe just not what I was expecting? I went with my friend, who had also seen 1 production of the play before (not the 2nd Stage production), and we both agreed that this production came across as somewhat...lighter (?) than we expected? I remember finding the 2nd Stage production deeply hfanaunting and disturbing, whereas here it felt like there was more humor, and even the more disturbing scenes seemed to be played very straight, very normal.

It's not necessarily a problem - I think it serves to emphasize how this situation felt normal to Lil Bit at the time, and it didn't seem insidious to her until after the fact. But it was jarring to watch some of these scenes play out so...casually? Again, I guess that's kind of the point, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

There were, however, some moments of direction that felt awkward, or didn't land. Which is surprising considering it's the original director. All of the scenes between the main characters were really strong, but some of the interstitial scenes, monologues, etc. felt kind of awkward and forced. In particular, I thought the fishing scene really didn't work, despite the best efforts of Morse, and a few other scenes like that. And I didn't think the 2 younger actors were all that good - they were directed to be almost a little too cartoonish? Again, goes back to what I was saying about there being a lighter, more humorous tone than I expected.

I'm still trying to process why exactly the production didn't land the way I hoped. Maybe I'll appreciate it more after I sit with it longer. But overall, a really strong piece of theatre, featuring 3 must-see performances of the season.

Updated On: 4/8/22 at 09:50 AM

I was at today’s matinee and cannot stop thinking about it 5 hours later. Mary Louise Parker delivers an astonishing performance that has truly rocked me to my core. What I found particularly impressive was her restraint…it such a harrowing and traumatic performance that never crosses into melodramatic territory. A masterclass!

Anyone seen it from the mezzanine? I know up close would be best, but for the performance I'm considering I've got the last two rows or orchestra or row D in the mezz. Trying to decide if seeing it from either of those locations is worth it versus passing for now and hoping for an extension.

JasonC3 said: "Anyone seen it from the mezzanine? I know up close would be best, but for the performance I'm considering I've got the last two rows or orchestra or row D in the mezz. Trying to decide if seeing it from either of those locations is worth it versus passing for now and hoping for an extension."

I sat in row D of the mezz dead center yesterday afternoon and it was great. The Friedman is pretty small so you can still see facial expressions quite clearly from back there.

If you see Mary Louise Parker on stage enough you start to sound like a broken record, saying she’s “extraordinary”, but she truly is and I can’t think of any other word to describe her. Seeing this today and up close, she shows us yet again, she’s one of the great stage actresses we have and maybe ever have had.


The fact they’re all older now and playing the same roles has only, I imagine, made their performances even stronger. Parker’s ability to shift her age by decades by her voice or even a single look on her face is something that honesty should be studied by acting students. I already got tickets to come back in a few weeks to see it again, after I’m able to fully let today sink in.

Jordan Catalano said: "If you see Mary Louise Parker on stage enough you start to sound like a broken record, saying she’s “extraordinary”, but she truly is and I can’t think of any other word to describe her. Seeing this today and up close, she shows us yet again, she’s one of the great stage actresses we have and maybe ever have had.


The fact they’re all older now and playing the same roles has only, I imagine, made their performances even stronger. Parker’s ability to shift her age by decades by her voice or even a single look on her face is something that honesty should be studied by acting students. I already got tickets to come back in a few weeks to see it again, after I’m able to fully let today sink in."

She actually planned to quit theater (or at least Broadway) about a decade ago. MTC just keeps reeling her back in with these great parts. She also loves performing at the Friedman because of its intimacy.

JasonC3 said: "I dream of a play that features both Metcalf and Parker."

They’d both be perfect in several roles in August: Osage County.

That would be terrifying. Cate Blanchett as Barbara?

Good, obviously!

When I saw it 25 years ago, it had a huge impact on me at a time I was grappling with what the theatre was and what it might be. It influenced my life. All I can say now (having seen this impeccable revival twice and seeing it again this week) is that I didn't imagine it possible that I would find it richer still, but I certainly did.

Synecdoche2 said: "JBroadway, I think I understand what you mean about David Morse. L'il Bit has been well-acted many times, but his Uncle Peck totally transforms the material. If you've seen the play but not Morse, that performance is the revelation that makes the play so much more horrifyingly intimate and tender(!) to really amplify the devastating effect of the end. I still have a pit in my stomach.

But let's be honest: Parker is the star, and she carries this all the way home as one of our very best actors in a legendary role and living up to all hype. No way she doesn't win another Tony."



I think this is exactly what I was experiencing! Thank you for articulating it much better than I did.

Though I think I still stand by my other comment; I've now seen both actors onstage twice each. So I was comparing Morse to his performance in Iceman Cometh (which was also very good, but not nearly as brilliant as this), whereas I was comparing Parker to her performance in The Sound Inside, which I think I SLIGHTLY preferred over this one. So that also contributed to my feeling that Morse was the biggest revelation.

But no matter how you slice this cake, one thing remains true: Parker and Morse are both doing virtuosic work over at the Friedman!