Will Vanessa Redgrave Incite the Jews by Playing One?
Ever since it was announced that Driving Miss Daisy was coming to Broadway, with Vanessa Redgrave as the cranky old Jewish lady and James Earl Jones as her trusty driver, people have been polishing up the Tonys.
But there IS a problem, as someone on a Broadway board has noted.
Says the poster:
"I have been bemused for a while about the upcoming Driving Miss Daisy. Let's just say it doesn't interest me at all.
"What does interest me a bit is that this play has always had a strong Jewish angle -- that's the target audience, and always has been for this gentle sweet little play about race in the South.
"Vanessa Redgrave is a great actress -- and also a well known Pro-Palestinian activist. I don't judge this in any way, and she is very eloquent in her work on behalf of the Palestinian people.
"But this also makes her persona non grata in the Jewish community, especially the very vocal New York one.
"So the question I pose to Jed Bernstein and his producer colleagues is, are they shooting themselves in the foot by casting Ms Redgrave?
"Will this keep a chunk of audience away? I'm not saying it should -- just that it likely will. Thoughts?"
Well, my thought is that a potential landmine will be averted for one simple reason.
The great Vanessa lost her daughter, brother, and sister, all in a relatively short period of time.
No one is going to criticize her for anything!
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