Driving Miss Daisy is a 1987 play by Alfred Uhry about the relationship of an elderly Southern Jewish lady and her African-American chauffeur, Hoke Colburn, over the span of several decades. The original off-Broadway production starred Dana Ivey and Morgan Freeman. Ivey's performance garnered her an Obie Award as Best Actress. The play was the first in Uhry's "Atlanta Trilogy" dealing with Jewish residents of that city in the early 20th century. Uhry's most successful play, it won him the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was performed in London's West End in 1988, with Dame Wendy Hiller as Miss Daisy Werthan.
In 1989, the play was adapted for a Warner Brothers film with Morgan Freeman reprising his role and Miss Daisy played by Jessica Tandy (who went on to be the oldest winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role). The story defines Daisy and her point of view through a network of relationships and emotions by focusing on her home life, her synagogue, friends, family, fears, and concerns. Hoke is rarely seen out of Miss Daisy's presence, although the title implies that the story is told from his perspective.
The film won the 1989 Academy Award for Best Picture. It is also, as of 2008, the last PG-rated film to win that title.
An elderly Jewish widow living in Atlanta can no longer drive. Her son insists she allow him to hire a driver, which in the 1950s meant a black man. She resists any change in her life but, Hoke, the driver is hired by her son. She refuses to allow him to drive her anywhere at first, but Hoke slowly wins her over with his native good graces. The movie is directly taken from a stage play and does show it. It covers over twenty years of the pair's life together as they slowly build a relationship that transcends their differences. Written by John Vogel
