Talented actors drive ‘Miss Daisy’

Watching Michael Learned as a nonagenarian in the last scene of “Driving Miss Daisy” in the Rubicon Theatre production in Ventura is sobering in a way that goes beyond the character.

Many of us first saw Learned as the vigorous backwoods mother of “The Waltons” three decades ago. Now she’s tottering around the stage of the Laurel, carefully anticipating and measuring every tiny movement.

At first it seems as if she won’t speak in this scene. But then her voice cuts through the pleasantries spoken by her son and her former chauffeur with a brief but slightly sardonic observation. There is life in the old woman yet.

It must be hard for Learned, like many a TV star, that we sometimes still associate her with her most famous role. It’s no reflection on her ability to transform herself into an independent-minded Jewish widow in Atlanta from 1948 to 1973. She’s actually younger than Daisy at the beginning of the play, but she knows precisely how to portray Daisy at successively older ages and at every turning point in her relationship with her somewhat younger African American chauffeur, Hoke. It’s a smoothly calibrated performance.

So is Lance E. Nichols’ portrayal of Hoke. Repeating a role he performed at Hermosa Beach Playhouse two years ago, Nichols is masterful at underplaying Hoke’s emotional affect until the critical moment when he and Daisy have a harrowing disagreement on the road to Mobile.

Nichols’ performance in this scene is such a noticeable change in his demeanor that we wonder, during the 15-minute intermission that follows, how the rift between the two characters will be healed.

Unfortunately, the play doesn’t really answer that question. That’s why it’s better if the next scene simply follows without a break, which is how the play was meant to be staged. Staging the scene with an intermission, as James O’Neil has done here, excessively inflates the cliffhanger aspect of the preceding scene.

Eric Lange plays Daisy’s son and Hoke’s employer, Boolie, with a knack for understatement on a par with Nichols’. Lange’s face reflects subtle hints of amusement over his sometimes exasperating mother and respect for Hoke’s ability to negotiate a better salary.

Subtlety is the key to Alfred Uhry’s play, where much is implied but unsaid. O’Neil’s direction usually maintains the appropriate tone.

The Laurel stage is too shallow for many scenic effects, but a series of black-and-white slides of period photographs illustrates the social context and helps pass the time during the many scene changes.

Their technical quality isn’t always the best, but then one doesn’t expect perfection out of an old scrapbook.

Ann Bruice’s costumes and recorded incidental music by Hekar Rivera and Steve Sunnarborg on violin and guitar also help sustain the atmosphere.

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‘Driving Miss Daisy’

Where: The Laurel Theatre, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura

When: Wednesdays, 7 p.m.; Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m.

Ends: May 9

Price: $25-$45

Contact: (805) 667-2900

Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes