Buckhead residents who travel to London to see the stage version of “Driving Miss Daisy” at the Wyndhams Theater might want to listen carefully to the performance of Boyd Gaines. Gaines, a Broadway actor, plays Boolie Werthan, son of the title character.
Gaines, an Atlanta native, told Broadway.com that he used Buckhead Coalition President Sam Massell’s voice as the inspiration for his character. Massell is the first Jewish Mayor of Atlanta, and in the play the Werthans are a Jewish family.
“I knew very few Jewish families in Atlanta, but there were some; when I was doing research for the play, I found myself coming upon interviews with Sam Massell, the first Jewish mayor of Atlanta, so I kind of based my dialect in the show on him,” Gaines told Broadway.com
See the full article here.
The play stars James Earle Jones as Hoke Colburn and Vanessa Redgrave as Daisy Werthan.
Massell said, “It’s about the closest I’ll get to being on Broadway or London Theatre.”
“If (you) hear him imitating me, it’s not me,” Massell said. “The Buckhead Coalition doesn’t give me time off to perform on the stage, although, a lot of politicians are considered to be actors.”
For more information about the show, visit http://www.london-theatreland.co.uk/theatres/wyndhams-theatre/driving-miss-daisy.php.
