The scene doesn’t quite reach those heights of emotion. After all, what was once quietly frowned upon is now rightly seen as a grievous sin of the abuser. When she goes off to college and starts to realize the creepiness of her 1960s small-town Maryland predicament, leading to a devastating climax in a hotel room, we should be left in pieces. The cast of “How I Learn To Drive” plays multiple roles that span more than a decade. That resistance to anguish is confusing when there are should-be visceral scenes like Uncle Peck getting 16-year-old Li’l Bit drunk on martinis at a fancy restaurant, or feeling her up in a car at only 13, or taking lewd photos of her while encouraging the young girl to pose for Playboy. The show hit me harder in a small room when I was in college. And “How I Learned To Drive,” once again directed by Mark Brokaw, is lighter than I have ever seen it. Still, if time doesn’t necessarily heal all wounds, it can at least soften painful memories.
She’s a deep-feeling actress and an unfailingly genuine presence, and is always a wonder to watch. Since Li’l Bit looks back through time - each scene is told through a different “driving lesson” - Parker has the benefit of reflection and her own life experience since the late ’90s. The reunion has its virtues and its drawbacks. 1 hour and 40 minutes without intermission.
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