Rave reviews for Vanessa Redgrave, ‘sassy’ at 73 after year of family heartbreak

Curtain call: Vanessa Redgrave with James Earl Jones, left, and Boyd Gaines enjoy the applause after the Driving Miss Daisy first night on Broadway
10 April 2012

Vanessa Redgrave has made a triumphant return to the Broadway stage, proving she can still make an impact at 73.

The actress earned rave reviews for her performance in Driving Miss Daisy, which opened last night and also stars James Earl Jones and Boyd Gaines.

If follows great tragedy in the Redgrave acting dynasty. Redgrave's daughter, Natasha Richardson, 45, died in March last year after a skiing accident. Redgrave's brother Corin passed away in April this year aged 70, and sister Lynn died at 67 the following month from breast cancer.

Critics were unanimous in their praise for Redgrave's performance at the John Golden Theatre. In a stripped-down production, only a few pieces of furniture are used on stage while a few projected images set the background.

The New York Times wrote: "Ms Redgrave and Mr Jones calmly but forcefully grab our attention and hold it, without appearing even to try.

"They give responsible, intelligent performances that are infused with two old pros' joy in the mastery of their craft. And they pull off the deft trick of registering as big as we want them to be without making the play in which they appear seem even smaller than it is."

Bloomberg described the acting as "simply superb", adding: "That is, if the vast talents of the cast can be called simple. They are tried and true performers who bring ultimate artistry well beyond mere craft. From Redgrave, it is a kind of sublime mugging and gloriously projected, perfectly Southern speech, going from chilly hauteur through sassy incandescence to bone-deep humanity."

USA Today wrote: "As Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman proved in the 1989 film adaptation of Daisy, the measure of a great actor is his or her ability to bring humanity to a role of any scope... Jones' and Redgrave's performances — by turns funny, tender, adorable and heartbreaking — rank with their best, most revelatory work."

The Wall Street Journal called it "a perfect night on Broadway". Its critic said: "This is as fine a production of Driving Miss Daisy as I can imagine. It is so fine, in fact, that I was astonished to be reminded that this is the play's Broadway premiere."

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