By Isabel Olson

Set in the late 1940s, Driving Miss Daisy tells the story of an elderly woman losing her means of freedom and mobility — her ability to drive. When her son insists on hiring her a driver, Miss Daisy is forced to warm up to Hoke, her new chauffeur and soon to be best friend. Throughout a 25 year period, Daisy and Hoke’s friendship blossoms as the characters come to terms with growing old in a quickly changing world.

Due to popular demand, OnStage Atlanta presented their second production of Driving Miss Daisy earlier this month. The three characters are performed by the same actors as the past production.

For a community theater, these actors displayed the lovely tale with quality acting. Bobbie Elzey (Daisy), Nat Martin (Hoke) and DeWayne Morgan (Boolie) found affection within their roles, even for their second production.

For a show that revolves heavily around a car, one might suspect a car to be included in the driving scenes — however, this production gets creative with a minimalistic two chair setting, creating an abstract automobile for the audience to imagine. Certainly not everybody’s cup of tea, but with a lower budget than some Atlanta theaters, OnStage Atlanta produces exceptional work. Understanding their own strengths and weaknesses, Driving Miss Daisy is not a flashy show, and it played out well in a black box theater.

This small community theater’s production of Driving Miss Daisy showed Aug. 28 through Sept. 5, but their season continues with Looking for Normal and A Murder is Announced. While not a grand operation by any means, OnStage Atlanta’s prices are appropriate and the shows lend themselves nicely to an evening out.