Actor David Morse appeared on Good Morning America April 22 to discuss returning to the role of Uncle Peck in Paula Vogel's How I Learned To Drive 25 years after the show's Off-Broadway debut.
"The world has changed so much," Morse shares. "Twenty-five years ago people were not having these conversations. When we come out after a performance, there were people on the street who just couldn't leave, because of things they had been through in their life. They just had to be around people who understood what they went through, and we would be on the street having conversations with them. Now, thankfully, the world is changing... at least we're talking about it, things are being addressed." Watch Morse's full appearance on the morning show above.
Manhattan Theatre Club's production of How I Learned to Drive opened on Broadway April 19, following previews beginning March 29. The new production of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer-winning play is running at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, after being delayed due to the COVID-19 Broadway shutdown.
The production, which follows a woman coming to terms with her sexually abusive uncle through a series of flashbacks, reunites the original cast and director from its 1997 Off-Broadway premiere, featuring direction by Mark Brokaw and leading performances by Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse, who reprise their roles of Li’l Bit and Uncle Peck, respectively. They're joined by fellow original cast member Johanna Day and newcomers Alyssa May Gold and Chris Myers. Rounding out the company as understudies are Suzy Jane Hunt, Emily Young, Curt Bouril, and Charles Browning.
The play's creative team includes scenic design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Dede Ayite, lighting design by Mark McCullough, original music and sound design by David Van Tieghem, video design by Lucy MacKinnon, music direction and vocal arrangements by Stephen Oremus, dialect coaching by Deborah Hecht, and production stage management by James Fitzsimmons. The production is cast by Kelly Gillespie, Nancy Piccione, and Caparelliotis Casting.