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Arts Club brings 'Driving Miss Daisy' to Surrey (WITH VIDEO)

John Campbell and Nicola Lipman in "Driving Miss Daisy,"

SURREY — Actor Nicola ("Niki") Lipman is glad that she'd neither seen the movie Driving Miss Daisy nor read the script before Bill Millerd, artistic managing director of Arts Club Theatre Company, asked her to star in the company's production of it.

"This is one of those plays where you want to do it your way," Lipman said. "You don't want to do it the way it was done in the movie or the way it was done on Broadway years ago, you want to discover it for yourself, for now."

In the production coming to Surrey Arts centre starting next Thursday, Jan. 16, Lipman plays Daisy Werthan, an elderly white Southern Jewish woman who employs as her chauffeur Hoke Colburn (John Campbell), a black African-American. The story follows their relationship over a period of 25 years, from 1948 to 1973.

(SCROLL TO BOTTOM FOR VIDEO OF SCENES, INTERVIEWS)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning Alfred Uhry script, first staged in 1987 and later made into a movie starring Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, is billed by the Arts Club as "a comedy of unlikely friendship" but, in Lipman's opinion, it's much more than that.

"When I read the play, I was really taken aback and surprised - I don't know why - by how wonderful (it is), what a great little gem it is, you know, and it's still so potent today," Lipman enthused in a phone interview with the Now.

"It doesn't seem old-fashioned, it seems very current and it's not stale at all, and it still has a lot to say, because it's about people, and it's about relationships and it's about aging," she added. "In fact, I think the play has even more relevance today because of our aging population."

Lipman, who was born in Vancouver, moved back here from Nova Scotia a few years ago to care for her father, who will celebrate his 100th birthday in March.

"It's been great," the actor said, "because I've worked here the last few years, have done some wonderful shows and got to know the community of Vancouver again, because there are so many wonderful actors and directors here. It's nice to be part of that."

Lipman recently won a Jessie Richardson theatre award for her role as the Parisian housekeeper in the Arts Club's production of Boeing-Boeing, which was staged at Surrey Arts Centre last fall.

As part of its 50th-anniversary season, the company is bringing Driving Miss Daisy on tour to venues around Metro Vancouver before the show motors to its Granville Island stage for a month, starting Feb. 13.

"This show is brimming with heart," stated director Mario Crudo, who was an associate director with the Arts Club until he left Vancouver in the early 1990s to work with Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Driving Miss Daisy is staged at Surrey Arts Centre's main stage from Jan. 16 to 25, from Tuesday to Saturday at 8 p.m., plus Saturday and Sunday matinees at 4 p.m. Tickets range from $29 to $43, including all fees. Student rush tickets ($15) are subject to availability 30 minutes before curtain. For tickets and more show info, call 604-501-5566 or visit tickets.surrey.ca.



Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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