Book Nook Cafe discussion

How I Learned to Drive by Paula Vogel

Description
The 1950s pop music accompanying Li'l Bit's excursion down memory lane cannot drown out the ghosts of her past. Sweet recollections of driving with her beloved uncle intermingle with lessons about the darker sides of life. Balmy evenings are fraught with danger; seductions happen anywhere. Li'l Bit navigates a narrow path between the demands of family and her own sense of right and wrong

Wiki: How I Learned to Drive is a play written by American playwright Paula Vogel. The play premiered on 16 March 1997 off-broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. Vogel received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work.

The story follows the strained, sexual relationship between Li'l Bit and her aunt's husband, Uncle Peck, from her adolescence through her teenage years into college and beyond. Using the metaphor of driving and the issues of pedophilia, incest, and misogyny, the play explores the ideas of control and manipulation


Paperback: 60 pages

Discussion: The discussion will begin on January 20, 2010.

I can pick my copy this weekend!

I meant to post earlier........my Library system does not have a copy of this. It looked interesting. I'll try to find the next selection so I can join in.

Donna

:( Sorry to hear that, Donna. Did you check by author or just title? You might want to ask your library to search by author's name. Sometimes with plays they group a few of the authors work together under another title. One such title for this play is The Mammary Plays: The Mammary Plays : How I Learned to Drive and The Mineola Twins

My play came in a book entitled The Best Plays of 1997-1998. I got it interlibrary loan, and plan to read today or tomorrow.

The "Best Plays of..." are the ways i often find play titles i want to read. It's expensive for libraries to order individual plays so compilations seem to be the way they prefer. Even my library, which has NO single play books, has several of the "Best Plays" books.

deborah

Well, I was able to find the "Mammary Plays" at another Library in the state. We'll just see how long it takes for me to get it. Thanks for the help girls!

Donna

I was talking to a neighor today and she told me my library is closed Sunday and Monday. Good thing I picked up the play the other day.

Donna, whenever you get the play that will be fine.
It looks like a real quick read. Maybe 60 pages. And plays don't have that much text on each page.

And the good thing about GR is with the organized threads you can easily find the discussion. On the History board, the group is weeks ahead of me, but I easily joined in the discussion as they have about 15 threads for the book, all clearly labeled as to chapters.

My Library is closed Mon & Tues as well. Will let you know when it comes.

Donna
PS. Another odd thing. Now when I post, it does not show me the post in full at bottom of thread. It takes me to the "My Boards" page. IS it just me?

For what it's worth, there is an interview with Paula Vogel and some production notes at this web site:

http://www.thehipp.org/drive_perspect...

Donna in Southern Maryland wrote: "
PS. Another odd thing. Now when I post, it does not show me the post in full at bottom of thread. It takes me to ..."
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That is weird. I am having no issues with GR. I wish I could help. The most I can do is suggest you post your problem on the Feedback board,in the Bug folder. People usually respond with advice pretty quickly there.

I've only read a few pages, but wanted to comment on the character of Peck.

In the character list of my book it suggests:
"he should be played by an actor one might cast in the role of Atticus in To Kill A Mockingbird.

Without this note, I was picturing a sleazy guy, not the distinguished Gregory Peck. Even if he does have the same name as the character !

Also what do you think about the technique of using 3 Greek Chorus's. I think if I was staging it, I would have these characters suddenly appear with the spotlight on them. It would be more like a flashback.

The Choruses provide asides, portray various other characters like the parents and grandparents, and add bit of humor (and music). The action of the play is nonlinear, going back to Lil Bit's memories as they come to her, so I imagine the choruses could be spotlighted.

I was interested in some of Vogel's staging suggestions, like putting all the street signs around, and using 60's pop music. I wish I had seen the play when the Madison Rep did it a number of years ago - there's probably all sorts of room for creative staging.

Sherry (sethurner) wrote: "The Choruses provide asides, portray various other characters like the parents and grandparents, and add bit of humor (and music). The action of the play is nonlinear, going back to Lil Bit's memo..."
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Yes, I just was trying to picture the play in my mind and felt that having just one person play, say the grandmother, and make it clear it is a flashback, would be move realistic than the chorus. But I guess that is just a personal preference.

The play is being staged in NYC now. Here is a NY Times review. (may contain spoilers)

http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theate...

Fascinating review - makes me wish I could see it and compare their interpretation to what I had in my mind.

I thought it interesting how such an innocuous title, something that is usually associated with something fun and positive, turned so sinister in the play.

I have to say that of all the Pulitzer plays we've read together so far, this one has interested me the least and left me with the least comments or questions.

There is one though, and it has to do with Uncle Peck. How do you react to him? Do you have any sympathy for him? It seems clear that the whole family is a little sleazy (think those nicknames), and that Peck probably was abused as a child. Does he have any good qualities?

When the play began, I thought Li'l Bit was a bit too precocious. And I didn't like the character. And I felt more sympathy for Peck. However, as the play progressed, and I read the driving scene, my emotions did a 180. I think this reversal is what gave the play it's punch.

Perhaps this is a play that is better seen than read to get the full impact.

I am sorry that i have been unable to join in thus far. The library i use which has a copy lost it. Well, someone has it & hasn't returned it for months. They are searching for that (or another) copy for me, so i hold out hope. My search expiration date is mid-February.

deborah

Deborah, that's really too bad. Your comments are always thoughtful and help me see what I have read in a new light. Materials in our library seem to be lost pretty often too, though I can often get what I want from somewhere else.

Thank you, Sherry, for the compliment. This is the first "lost" issue i've had since moving here. In Maryland i seemed to run into it 4 or 5 times a year.

deborah

Well lookit there! The library ran into incredible confusion & it's unclear where the problem started but they tracked down the play. It had been returned on time but was stored wrong or something. I suspect part of the problem is the above-mentioned combination of two plays in one book, The Mammery Plays. In their card catalog it's listed as an individual play with no mention of the larger book where it is. ANYway, they found it for me & i read it yesterday.

This is one of the few times i wish i hadn't seen the cast list. David Morse is an excellent actor & is able to play both good & "bad" characters well. However, he is not my idea of Atticus from TKAM. I wish i'd had Gregory Peck (coincidence on the name, since she specifically mentioned Atticus, someone most folks associate with the actor?) in mind as i read it. I suspect there would have been a more frightening aspect to the character.

Peck is a pedophile & has victimized in the past. The idea that his life was ruined because Li'l Bit refused to see him anymore seems out of character. It seems more likely that he resumed (or escalated) his drinking after she left town but i find it difficult to believe his demise was due to her. In fact i ended up wondering if this was a story she told herself. Maybe it helps her to think he vicitimized no one else. I just found it odd.

HOWEVER, i liked the play & felt the author was on target with things such as a teen with large breasts, the way some families are "too" comfortable talking about sex in front of teenagers and the general idea of a rural southern family. Additionally, there were aspects of the connecting scenes with driving instructions which appealed to me. Nonetheless i think i'd like it better in person. Reading it allowed me too much time to go back to consider whether or not the "title" fit what the subsequent action in the play.

deborah

Peck is a thought provoking character, isn't he. I returned my copy of the play to the library, but my memory impression is that as inappropriate as it was, he loved Lil Bit. Or at least he really felt he needed her - maybe in the same way he felt he needed a drink. Vogel implies in interviews I read that she thinks Peck made Lil Bit into a survivor (and a good driver). Is there anything to be said for him in that he waited until she was 18 to think seriously about going "all the way"?

Sherry (sethurner) wrote: "Is there anything to be said for him in that he waited until she was 18 to think seriously about going "all the way"?..."

No, i felt that was self-serving. He could have gone to prison for statutory rape. Additionally, i think it was part of the process for him to give her the illusion she is in control, including the timing. Had Li'l Bet been willing earlier, i believe he would have consumated the relationship. I am open to being wrong, though. ;-)

One question i had was how that "waiting" tied into the business LB hears about how grandpa & grandma were married when she was 13 or so. Or did it? I'm not sure but i found it something to think about...more in the line of why the playwright included that part. How did it contribute to the story? Just to illustrate how things have progressed?

deborah

Sherry (sethurner) wrote: Is there anything to be said for him in that he waited until she was 18 to think seriously about going "all the way"?..."
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Not to me. He molested her when she was 11 years old. As LB says, "That day was the last day I lived in my body. I retreated above the neck, and I've lived inside the "fire" in my head ever since.

I'm glad you got the play, Deb. As for Gregory Peck playing the part, I think since I think of him as the noble father in TKAMB, that would make his character even more scary for me.

Deborah wrote: Additionally, there were aspects of the connecting scenes with driving instructions which appealed to me.

I liked that, too. With the innocent title of the play, which usually evokes a happy time in ones life, it all played into the theme of innocence betrayed.

My play book has LB played by Mary-Louise Parker. I just saw her recently in the play, Hedda Gabler. So I pictured her in this part. She's an excellent actress and I can see her doing the part well.

I had Parker in my mind as i read, thanks to the cast list & could easily see it. I've enjoyed her work for years and am pleased to learn that she's on stage more & more. Sorry i missed the Ibsen.


deborah

This play is being staged in NYC. I saw a review of it on TV.

http://2st.com/

Sounds good, Alias. I remember when we read the play, i thought the cast sounded as though they would be excellent. This review loves Norbert Leo Butz & his Uncle Peck. Will you try to see this production? Sounds pricey!

deb

No, I already belong to the Roundabout theater. That gets me 7 plays for around $400. Though on occasion I will see a play that is not part of Roundabout if the actor or play is a must see.

I don't blame you. It's great you have those Roundabout tickets. We enjoy reading about your experiences.