Mel O'Drama Theater's DRIVING MISS DAISY hits the road

 

Atlanta matron Daisy Werthan and her driver and best friend Hoke Colburn are hitting the road again in a production of Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy, which tours to three small Tennessee towns over the next few weeks in a new production from Melanie Johnson Roady's Mel O'Drama Theater.

Starting May 20, Mel O'Drama Theater takes Driving Miss Daisy to The Palace Theater  in Gallatin (running May 20-22); next stop is The Coach House Events Hall in Pleasant View (May 28 and 29); and finally to White House's The Billy S. Hobbs Municipal Center  (June 3 and 4).  

Roady has assembled a cast of professional actors - Francine Berk plays Miss Daisy, Shawn Whitesell is Hoke and Raymon Whitt is Boolie in director Rusti Riddle's production - in order to take the show to communities that are ready for local entertainment in their own backyards.  

"I have always enjoyed supporting small town America, promoting community events, plus finding actors who love to act and patrons who want to see great performances locally," Roady says. "To be able to pull all these things together I now have the ability to bring together a professional cast, the props, sets and all the details that take several months to put together in order to do a show, then move the production from location to location."  

Not only will shows be going to the above-mentioned locations, but more locations and performance are in the process of being booked, Roady eplains. Mel O'Drama is taking its current season's shows to a variety of locations and is on the lookout for additional venues. 

"Sometimes community theaters need a little break, but don't want to be out of commission more than a few months, or risk losing their patrons," she says. "That is where Mel O'Drama comes in. Joining forces with these local groups by bringing in theater, musicians, comedians and other forms of entertainment allows these community theaters to maintain their audience base they have worked so hard to develop while they take a much-needed and well-deserved break.  

Curtain at Gallatin's Palace Theatre is at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21; and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 22. Tickets are $15 per person, 10 & under free. The Coach House Events Hall, in Pleasant View, will include a dessert buffet in its $25 ticket price. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 28, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 29. Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, June 3 and 4, at the Billy S. Hobbs Municipal Center in White House. Tickets are $15 per person, 10 & under free. For reservations, call  (615) 952-4985 or visit the website at www.melodramatheater.org.

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