“Million Dollar Quartet” and “Shrek the Musical” are just two Broadway shows set to make the transition to the West End in 2011 and if producers on the other side of the Atlantic get their way these musicals could be joined by one of Broadway’s most successful recent plays – “Driving Miss Daisy”. According to a recent article in Variety, London theatre audiences could soon get a chance to witness Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones in the classic play by Alfred Uhry with producers of the current Broadway revival laying plans to bring the play to the West End in fall 2011, leaving time for Jones to return to New York to appear in a Broadway revival of Gore Vidal’s The Best Man in spring 2012.

Alfred Uhry’s play “Driving Miss Daisy”, famously adapted into a movie starring Morgan Freeman, has been a surprise hit on Broadway, where its box office receipts have mirrored blockbuster musicals more than other plays. It tells the story of Daisy – an elderly Jewish woman from the south – and Hoke Colburn – her African-American chauffer – over a defined period of time. The show is the first time that Redgrave and Jones have appeared together and has earned highly positive reviews during its run at the John Golden Theatre.

No details have emerged regarding the London theatre version of the show as yet, though the producers hope that it will retain the cast that has attracted such a huge audience in the States. The production is set to return to its home country following its West End appearance, this time in a nationwide tour with a new cast.
 

[Posted by Louise, 17/03/2011]

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