rOcKS @ 'Driving Miss Daisy'

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 12:42pm

This is a fine, very straight-forward, no-bells-and-whistles production of a play that I've always liked but never really LOVED. The direction is muddled at times (there are some really weirdly-staged moments that just felt awkward and totally inorganic) and the sets are almost TOO sparse (I wished they would've done more with the "car" idea). But the trio of performances is certainly worth your time.

Before I praise them though, I have to mention how absolutely HORRENDOUS the sound design is for this show. I was in the last row of the mezzanine (a fine view for this show, for the record) and something about the sound design was totally off. I truthfully don't know if it was the acoustics in the theater or if it was the microphones, if they even use microphones, but it was very difficult to hear. I understand that I was in the nosebleeds but I paid $75 for the nosebleeds! They're the cheapest seats in the theater! (Really around $65ish, I think, before all of the internet surcharges, but still.) I was really irritated by the fact that I couldn't hear a lot of the show because it all just sounded like a mumbled mess.

And James Earl Jones' awful, awful diction didn't help one bit. There were parts of the show where I literally could not understand one word of his lines. But when he was good, he was good. I was shocked that an actor like Mr Jones was delivering his lines so haphazardly. I had seen him onstage before and never had a problem understanding him. But last night, it was like he was speaking with a mouth full of cotton. Nevertheless, he and the luminous Vanessa Redgrave have stellar chemistry and both turned in ultimately moving performances. Redgrave gave my personal favorite performance here; she was fantastic. Boyd Gaines is very funny and touching as well.

What to say about this production as whole? It's a smidge better than a "shrug-fest," which was what I dubbed A LIFE AT THE THEATER, but it's nothing mind-blowing. The matinee ladies will surely eat this one up. And I think it'll be a hit, if tonight's audience reaction was any indication (uproarious laughter throughout and thunderous applause at the top of the show and the second it was over). I thought it had a few lovely moments, but it's ultimately uninspired and a bit lackluster, save for the performances which are each very good.

**1/2 out of ****
Updated On: 10/15/10 at 12:42 PM

[theatreguy]

Posted: 10/15/10 at 1:26pm

I was sitting about halfway back in the orchestra and had the same sound problems you did. Redgrave was very quiet and Jones was almost impossible to understand in some parts. It got better as the show went along, but there were several sections where I had no idea what either of them was saying.