History Theatre / HowILearnedToDrive

A woman, known to the audience only as L'il Bit, tells a story of her complicated relationship with her uncle. Uncle Peck taught Li'l Bit to drive. He also molested her, starting when she was eleven years old. [[WordOfGod According to the playwright,]] Paula Vogel, ''How I Learned to Drive'' is "a play about the gifts we receive from the people who hurt us" -- and about control and manipulation. It is possibly the most heartbreaking play about pedophilia and incest you'll ever read or see.

It won the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize in 1998 and was revived Off Broadway in 2012. The original cast included Creator/MaryLouiseParker as Li'l Bit and Creator/DavidMorse as Uncle Peck. The play was supposed to run on Broadway for the first time in March 2020, but that was postponed by the coronavirus pandemic, and it is now scheduled for 2022.

* BuxomIsBetter: Uncle Peck calls Li'l Bit's breasts "these celestial orbs."

''How I Learned to Drive'' is a 1997 play by Paula Vogel

* TheAlcoholic: Uncle Peck is a recovered drunk, [[spoiler:who falls off the wagon and drinks himself to death after Li'l Bit refuses him.]]

* FreudianExcuse: Hinted at. Li'l Bit guesses that Uncle Peck may himself have been abused as a child, saying near the end, "Who did it to you? Were you eleven?" There's also a suggestion that Uncle Peck may be a ShellShockedVeteran; he refuses to talk about anything he saw or did during World War II except to say that he served in the Pacific Theater.

* OffTheWagon: [[spoiler: After Li'l Bit rejects him, Uncle Peck eventually drinks himself to death.]]

%% Administrivia.ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

A woman, known to the audience only as L'il Bit, tells a story of her complicated relationship with her uncle. Uncle Peck taught Li'l Bit to drive, as well as a few other things. [[WordOfGod According to the playwright,]] Paula Vogel, ''How I Learned to Drive'' is "a play about the gifts we receive from the people who hurt us" -- and about control and manipulation. It is possibly the most heartbreaking play about pedophilia and incest you'll ever read or see.

%%* ComingOfAgeStory

* DCupDistress: L'il Bit compares her emerging boobs to parasitic aliens who have latched on to her.

%%* FreudianExcuse: Hinted at.

%%* GrowingUpSucks

It won the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize in 1998 and was revived Off Broadway in 2012. It is set to open on Broadway for the first time in 2020 with the original leads from 1997, Mary-Louise Parker and David Morse, reprising their roles alongside their original director Mark Brokaw.

It won the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize in 1998 and was revived Off Broadway in 2012.

%%* TheAlcoholic

* CreepyUncle

%%* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: As well as grandparents. Li'l Bits' breasts are a regular dinner topic.

* DCupDistress: L'il Brit compares her emerging boobs to parasitic aliens who have latched on to her.

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A woman, known to the audience only as L'il Bit, tells a story of her complicated relationship with her uncle. Uncle Peck taught Li'l Bit to drive, as well as a few other things. [[WordofGod According to the playwright]], Paula Vogel, ''How I Learned to Drive'' is "a play about the gifts we receive from the people who hurt us" -- and about control and manipulation. It is possibly the most heartbreaking play about pedophilia and incest you'll ever read or see.

It won the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize in 1998 and was revived OffBroadway in 2012.

!!How I Learned to Trope:

* OffTheWagon: [[spoiler:After Li'l Bit rejects him, Uncle Peck eventually drinks himself to death.]]

* TheAlcoholic

* ComingOfAgeStory

* FreudianExcuse: Hinted at.
* GrowingUpSucks

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname

* HotForStudent: Arguably, though Peck isn't an official (driving) teacher.

* IncestIsRelative

It won the PulitzerPrize in 1998 and was revived OffBroadway in 2012.

This play provides examples of:

* GrowingUpSucks: And how.

* HeyItsThatGuy: The original production starred Mary-Louise Parker as Li'l Bit, David Wain as Uncle Peck, and Michael Showalter as the male Greek Chorus.
** '''Creator/MichaelIanBlack''': ...Michael [Showalter] was in How I Learned To Drive, which won a Pulitzer Prize. I was in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
** '''David Wain''': Which won a Tony.

* HeyItsThatGuy: The original production starred Mary-Louise Parker as Li'l Bit, David Wain as Uncle Peck, and Michael Ian Black as the male Greek Chorus.

* HotForStudent, arguably, though Peck isn't an official (driving) teacher.

* OffTheWagon [[spoiler:After Li'l Bit rejects him, Uncle Peck eventually drinks himself to death.]]

* HeyItsThatGuy: The original production starred Mary-Louise Parker as Li'l Bit, David Morse (of St. Elsewhere) as Uncle Peck, and comedian Michael Showalter (of Stella and The State) as the Male Greek Chorus.
** '''Creator/MichaelIanBlack''': ...Michael [Showalter] was in How I Learned To Drive, which won a Pulitzer Prize. I was in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
** '''David Wain''': Which won a Tony.

** '''David Wain''': Which [[http://www.stellacomedy.com/website_press/onion.htm won a Tony.]]

** '''Michael Ian Black''': ...Michael [Showalter] was in How I Learned To Drive, which won a Pulitzer Prize. I was in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
** '''David Wain''': Which won a Tony. [[http://www.stellacomedy.com/website_press/onion.htm ]]