Love, friendship and understanding without religious or racial confines is the message of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Driving Miss Daisy, which is being brought to The Smith Center by Broadway in the Hood.
Founder Torrey Russell’s organization brings theater into impoverished Las Vegas areas by introducing people to the arts, casting performers from homeless shelters along with professional actors. In an interview with Las Vegas Magazine, Russell said Driving Miss Daisy brings to light a simple message: that we are all human beings.
The lead character is Daisy Werthan, a widowed, 72-year-old Jewish woman living in mid-century Atlanta. Her son feels she is too old to drive and he hires Hoke Colburn, an African American man who also distrusts people and becomes Daisy’s chauffeur.
Joan Mullaney, an adjunct college professor in Las Vegas who portrays Daisy, explains her character: “Daisy is a pistol. She softens a little more during the middle of the 25-year span of her friendship with Hoke. She was a fifth-grade teacher and when she discovers he can’t read, she teaches him. It’s a love story, good chemistry happens between people or it doesn’t,” added Mullaney, who says the play definitely shows how much we are alike, regardless of differences.
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 8 p.m. Jan. 15, 3 & 8 p.m. Jan. 16-17, $34 plus tax and fee. 702.749.2000
