One of America's most acclaimed plays is coming to Monmouth County next month as Driving Miss Daisy opens at Bell Theater in Bell Works. The production, running Aug. 7 through Aug. 23, features a cast with decades of Broadway experience, including two-time Tony Award nominee Alison Fraser and Asbury Park native Bernard Dotson, whose career has taken him from the Jersey Shore to some of Broadway's biggest stages.
For Monmouth County audiences, Dotson's return adds a hometown connection to the production. Raised in Asbury Park, he has built an extensive Broadway résumé that includes original casts of Ragtime, Sweet Smell of Success, and Paradise Square, along with performances in Chicago, The Color Purple, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Finian's Rainbow, and The Scottsboro Boys. At Bell Theater, he'll portray Hoke Colburn, the role originated by Morgan Freeman in the play's 1987 Off-Broadway premiere before Freeman reprised it in the Academy Award-winning film.
Alison Fraser stars as Daisy Werthan. Fraser has earned two Tony Award nominations and has appeared in numerous Broadway productions, including Romance/Romance, The Secret Garden, Gypsy, Falsettos, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She is joined by Broadway actor Abe Goldfarb as Boolie Werthan. The production is directed by Broadway veteran Nate Patten.
Written by Alfred Uhry, Driving Miss Daisy premiered Off-Broadway in 1987 and won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The story follows the evolving relationship between an elderly Jewish widow and the chauffeur hired by her son after she can no longer drive. Uhry has said he drew inspiration from the relationship between his grandmother and her longtime chauffeur, Will Coleman. The play later became the Academy Award-winning 1989 film starring Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd.
Driving Miss Daisy runs Aug. 7 through Aug. 23 at Bell Theater, 101 Crawfords Corner Road in Holmdel. Tickets are priced at $69 and $79 for adults, with discounted student tickets available. Free parking is available.
