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How I Learned to Drive
How I Learned to Drive
How I Learned to Drive
Audiobook1 hour

How I Learned to Drive

Written by Paula Vogel

Narrated by Glenne Headly, Randall Arney, Joy Gregory and

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Balmy evenings in rural Maryland are fraught with danger, and seductions can happen anywhere from a river bank to the front seat of a car, where a young self-conscious girl is learning to drive. To Li’l Bit, the radio is the most important part of the car, but the pop music of the 50’s can never quite drown out the harrowing images in her mind.

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Randall Arney, Joy Gregory, Glenne Headly, Paul Mercier and Rondi Reed.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 30, 2015
ISBN9781580813013
How I Learned to Drive

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Reviews for How I Learned to Drive

Rating: 4.357142857142857 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

28 ratings5 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Terrific play, but this is a very underwhelming performance of it. No energy at all.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A woman identified only by her childhood nickname Li'l Bit talks about sexual trauma from her past that continues to haunt her.This was a powerful read about how a young girl tries to deals with incestuous overtures by her uncle, many made when he was purportedly teaching her how to drive. Although there's clearly one person who is fully responsible for her sexual assault, this play shows how a whole society contributes to this terrible tragedy with off-color jokes about the human body, jealous wives who blame the victim, a refusal to talk to teenagers about safe sex, using sexuality to sell products, etc. etc.Although the subject material is difficult, I would be interested in seeing this play live some day if possible as Vogel's stage directions seem incredibly creative even when I wasn't able to fully conceptualize them. For instance, she calls for various street signs to show up at different times, for a trio of "Greek chorus" actors to pop in as assorted characters throughout the play, and so on. Not for the faint of heart, but this is overall an important work.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is one of those plays where everyone is dying to know - is it autobiographical? Because whenever a play is written about sexual abuse of a child, people definitely poke around hoping to find the author in the story. I don't know if it's autobiographical; I do know that it's a powerful and unforgettable play, where the driving lessons are actually a metaphor for the coming of age process. The author bends time and place, and throws linear structure out the window, and it works. The format lends a surreal nature to an all too real story, and makes it perhaps more bearable. A well written play, perhaps a bit underwritten which isn't always a bad thing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was pretty sure when I started this one that I would dislike it, but surprisingly enough, I found myself really enjoying this piece despite the incredibly difficult subject matter involving pedophilia. Vogel wrote it in such a way that it truly speaks to people, even if you cannot directly relate.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    oh this was a tough one - hard , demanding role to play