Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning

Driving Miss Daisy Opens at Palm Beach Dramaworks on February 6

West Palm Beach, Fla. (Thursday, January 29, 2026) - Alfred Uhry’s ever-popular, evergreen Driving Miss Daisy tells the story of an unlikely, life-changing friendship between Daisy Werthan, a Jewish widow, and Hoke Coleburn, a Black chauffeur hired by her son Boolie. Set in Atlanta, the Pulitzer Prize-winning play begins in 1948 when Daisy is 72 and stubbornly opposed to having a driver. Over the next 25 years, her attitude thaws and their relationship grows into one of mutual respect and affection. 

PBD’s production features theatre veterans Debra Jo Rupp and Ray Anthony Thomas, both making their debuts with the company. Boolie is played by multi-talented, Florida-based PBD veteran Matthew W. Korinko. Scenic design is by Bert Scott, sponsored by Susan Schwartz; costume design is by Brian O’Keefe, sponsored by Tony and Martin Sosnoff; lighting design is by John Wolf (PBD debut), sound design is by Alexander Sovronsky (PBD debut), and projection design is by Tim Brown (PBD debut). Robin Christian-McNair is the dialect coach (PBD debut).

Driving Miss Daisy was first produced Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons, starring Dana Ivey and Morgan Freeman. Although it’s a work of fiction, the characters “are made of little bits and pieces of my childhood,” Uhry wrote in the preface to the published version of the play. He also admitted that the extent of the play’s success was “unbelievable” to him. “I made sure various family members from Atlanta would get to town” during the scheduled five-week run. “The theatre seated seventy-four people. Just the right size, I thought, for a little play that could surely have appeal only to me, my family, and a few other southerners. To my amazement, the appeal was much wider. When the five weeks [were] up, the engagement was extended for another five weeks, and by then the demand for tickets was so great that we had to move to a bigger theatre.” Driving Miss Daisy was subsequently made into a film starring Freeman and Jessica Tandy, with Uhry writing the screenplay. The play has been produced across the country and around the world, and a 2010 Broadway production featured Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones. The play was then done a few years later in Australia, with Jones and Angela Lansbury as the leads.

Alfred Uhry is the only American playwright to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Driving Miss Daisy, 1988), an Academy Award for best screen adaptation (Driving Miss Daisy, 1990), and Tony Awards for Best Play (The Last Night of Ballyhoo, 1997) and Best Book of a Musical (Parade, 1999). Those three works are often referred to as Uhry’s Atlanta Trilogy, as they each explore aspects of the Jewish experience in his hometown. Other shows include the musicals The Robber Bridegroom (book and lyrics), Lovemusik (book), and My Paris (book), and the plays Without Walls and Edgardo Mine. Uhry is a graduate of Brown University, and a member of the Theater Hall of Fame.

Palm Beach Dramaworks is a professional, nonprofit theatre company founded in 2000 and located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. Each season, the award-winning company produces five shows and offers a wide variety of programs for students at the theatre and in schools. Committed to fostering the future of theatre, PBD has become a hub for playwrights in Florida and around the country to nurture their work through the Perlberg Festival of New Plays. PBD is a member of Theatre Communications Group, Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. In 2024, PBD was honored as Non-Profit of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches.

Tickets for all performances are $95, except for opening night of each production ($115) and previews ($75). Student tickets are available for $15 with a valid K-12 or university/college ID, and anyone under 40 pays $40 (no additional fees) with a photo ID. Tickets for educators and active military are half price with proper ID (other restrictions apply). Group rates are also available. Tickets can be purchased through the box office, in person or by phone (561.514.4042 ext 2), and online 24 hours a day at palmbeachdramaworks.org.    

Evening performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30pm. Matinee performances are Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2pm. Post-performance discussions follow Wednesday and Thursday matinees.

All performances, prices, and dates are subject to change.



The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Jennifer Sardone-Shiner

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(561) 891-7278

jshiner@palmbeachdramaworks.org

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