MAILED: Sept. 10, 2001
EAU CLAIRE — A Mixed
Company’s production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Driving Miss
Daisy” will open the 2001-02 season of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Artists Series on Tuesday, Sept. 25.
Set in the South in the years between 1948 and 1973,
Alfred Uhry’s poignant three-character drama will be presented at 7:30 p.m. in
Zorn Arena.
In “Driving Miss Daisy,” Uhry presents a sometimes
sentimental, sometimes bittersweet, always engaging view of life based on his
remembrances of growing up in Atlanta. The story centers on Daisy Werthan
(Judith L. Stone), a cantankerous, elderly widow who can no longer drive. Over
her protests, her upwardly mobile son Boolie (Louis A. George) hires a
gentle-spirited black man, Hoke Coleburn (Leonard Stephenson), to be her
chauffeur. The two gradually build a relationship that transcends their
differences, as a situation created out of need grows into a friendship rooted
in caring.
The stage production, which consists of a series of short
takes spanning a period of over two decades, contrasts with the award-winning
1989 film adaptation because blackouts between the scenes better delineate the
phases of Daisy and Hoke’s developing friendship. While it does not address
issues of prejudice directly, the story reflects a changing world through the
relationship between a fiercely independent Jewish woman who is growing
physically frail and is forced to accept help, and a proud, hard-working black
man who needs a job.
Admission is $15 for the public; $13 for those age 62 and
over and UW System or Chippewa Valley Technical College faculty/staff; or $5 for
those age 17 and under and UW System or CVTC students. Tickets are available at
the University Service Center in Davies Center, and will be sold at the door.
Patrons may also charge tickets to MasterCard or Visa
when they order by phone. Call (715) 836-3727 — or, outside the immediate Eau
Claire area, call toll-free (800) 949-UWEC. A $3 handling fee will be added to
all telephone charge orders.
Season subscription information is also available at the
Service Center. A range of subscription packages is available, offering
discounts of 10 to 20 percent.
The Artists Series is made possible by student funds
allocated by the UW-Eau Claire Student Senate.
-30-
JS/NW
[Administrative Offices]
[News Bureau]
UW-Eau Claire News Bureau
Schofield 201
(715) 836-4741
newsbur@uwec.edu
Updated: Sept. 10, 2001
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