Point Loma Actors Workshop will raise the curtains on its production of the acclaimed “Driving Miss Daisy” Friday, Feb. 20, at 8 p.m. at the Point Loma Assembly with a poignant and close-to-home meaning for the show’s director. The comedy-drama, written by Alfred Uhry in 1987, is a story of friendship, love and hope amid a sea of racial turmoil in mid- to late-20th-century America. The themes surface through a plot centering on an elderly Jewish widow who reluctantly develops a friendship with her African-American chauffeur during both characters’ later lives. The play examines how American racial consciousness transforms over the decades, moving from a society once permeated with racism and prejudice and its transition toward tolerance and equality. Director John H. Cochran cast New York stage actress Betsy Bruce Osmun as Daisy and National Theatre of Great Britain actor Ken Oberlander as Boolie, Daisy’s son. Cochran, a nationally recognized stage and film actor himself, had some difficulty finding an actor to play Hoke Coleburn, Daisy’s chauffeur. “I couldn’t find someone who identified with the role enough, and that’s why I decided to take the role myself,” Cochran said. Cochran grew up in Columbus, Ga., roughly a 20-minute drive from Atlanta, where the story takes place. The story also very strongly reminds Cochran of his father, Jack Cochran Sr., whom Cochran feels is a living artifact of that time period. There are a number of physical elements from the story that Cochran and his father remember. “My dad remembers the downtown Atlanta streets mentioned in the play as being nothing more than dirt lanes that allowed cattle herders to move back and forth,” Cochran said. Those same paths are now major thoroughfares, Cochran said. Cochran is thus no stranger to the story. “All of these things drew me to the play, and I decided to honor my father by putting on a play that connected with him so much,” Cochran said. Cochran added that his father’s life is deeply impacted by the evolution of racial consciousness in America, as are the lives of Daisy and Hoke. “[Cochran Sr.] deals with the memories of a vivid encounter with the Ku Klux Klan juxtaposed with the current staff of friendly and caring all-Caucasian nurses that visit and take care of him,” Cochran said. “At 92 years of age, my dad is still trying to put it all together, and the play speaks about how that process is undertaken,” Cochran said. “And I think the characters of the play struggle with these same issues,” he said. Cochran’s selection is profound and perhaps timely, as it opens in the wake of a still-changing American society that just inaugurated its first African-American president. Theatergoers are encouraged to turn out and witness this story of two unique figures who shed societal constraints and form a deep friendship that serves as an example for people in America and the world over. The Point Loma Assembly is located at 3035 Talbot St. Performances will continue Feb. 21, 27 and 28 and March 6, 7 and 13, with the final show March 14. Tickets are $15, $12 for students, seniors and military. Call (619) 225-0044 to reserve seats or to get information. Tickets will also be sold at the door, which opens 30 minutes prior to curtain.
