New American Folk Theatre Presents THE SUMMER OF DAISY FAY Review — A Walk Down Memory Lane

Memories pour from Daisy Fay Harper as she paints us a picture of the Miss Mississippi Beauty Pageant. As a contestant, she merrily observes as contestant after contestant flop on stage while they show their talent. Electric organs fall silent, microphones burn and crackle out, and twirling batons shoot out from a puzzled contestant’s hands. As Daisy speaks, her joy at those memories is evident as she giggles through each recollection.

Loosely based on Fannie Flagg’s novel, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, The Summer of Daisy Fay borrows pieces of the novel to give us a bird’s-eye view of Daisy Fay’s life. Speaking to us, her imaginary audience, in the basement of a tiny bar in a small town in Mississippi, Daisy recounts memories from her childhood—good and bad. Throughout this one-woman audio play, Daisy’s voice is layered with pride and longing as memories flow seamlessly from her.

New American Folk Theatre Offers Slices of a Young Girl’s Life

Memories build on each other. There are no visuals for us to look at as we listen to this performance, but Daisy’s emotions allow us to share each memory with her. Energy in her voice develops as she remembers her shock of playing the saxophone with a, unknowingly to her, bleeding hand. We feel her embarrassment as she describes sitting atop a frantic mule galloping down the highway and her too-loose bathing suit top slipping down. We hear the pain in her voice as she recounts a story of her best friend’s confrontation with abuse and sexual harassment at the hands of her father. Sound effects of footsteps against wooden floors break up Daisy’s voice, but, in this writer’s opinion, they don’t engage us as fully as Daisy’s range of emotion. Without her skill at storytelling, we may never be so connected to her and her memories.

The Summer of Daisy Fay is well-suited for those interested in listening to and laughing along with an audio play about memories, hopes, and dreams. Those looking for a play with visuals should look elsewhere. 

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Cast:
Charlie Irving

Director:
Anthony Whitaker

When:

Ongoing 

Where:

Streaming via the New American Folk Theatre website.

Tickets:

$10 

For more information visit the New American Folk Theatre website.  

Note: Picture this Post reviews are excerpted by Theatre in Chicago

Images courtesy of Paul Clark