How I Learned To Drive

 A

What a fascinating experience it has been to see Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer-awarded play for a second time 25 years after its premiere, with three of same actors, Mary-Louise Parker, David Morse and Johanna Day, and the same director, Mark Brokaw. Since it’s a memory play, it’s not really a problem that the actors have aged. While Morse has turned a distinguished gray, the amazing Parker seems frozen in time somewhere in early adulthood. We need no context other than her expressions and demeanor to tell what stage of Li’l Bit’s life she is recalling. In her supporting role in which she plays both Li’l Bit’s mother and her aunt, Day is very strong. The other two actors, Allysa May Gold and Chris Myers, are competent. Since the play premiered, we have become accustomed to discussion of child molestation in the public arena, so the play has lost some of its shock value. Nevertheless, it still packs a powerful punch; rarely have I witnessed such attentive silence in a Broadway audience. I had forgotten how horrid Li’l Bit’s family was to her and how much she felt her father’s absence. I also did not recall that it was she, at age 11, who suggested meeting weekly with Uncle Peck, the only one in her family who was nice to her. Nor did I remember Peck’s chilling monologue describing his fishing lesson for the unseen cousin Bobby. There are also more humorous moments than I recalled. The scenes, which move back and forth in time, are titled as if they were chapters in a driver training manual. The scene of her first “lesson” is mesmerizing. The final meeting, during which the power shifts from Peck to Li’l Bit, is gripping. The scenic design by Rachel Hauck is minimalist with only a couple of upholstered dining chairs onstage for much of the play. A series of mostly truncated upright poles is scattered across the set, possibly suggesting telephone poles one might see on a road trip. Dede Ayite’s costumes are appropriate, and Brokaw’s direction is smooth. The play is so intimate that I feared it might be lost in MTC’s Friedman theater, but that was not a problem, at least not from a seat in mid-orchestra. Even if you have seen the play before, the superb performances by Parker and Morse deserve a second visit. Running time: one hour 35 minutes; no intermission.