Christopher Anderson/The Gazette? Elizabethann English of Washington stars as Lil Bit and Bill Brekke of Silver Spring as Uncle Peck in "How I Learned to Drive" at the Greenbelt Arts Center.

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Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Elizabethann English of Washington stars as Lil Bit and Bill Brekke of Silver Spring as Uncle Peck in "How I Learned to Drive" at the Greenbelt Arts Center.
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Christopher Anderson/The Gazette Jill Goodrich of Silver Spring plays the three-in-one role of the female Greek chorus in "How I Learned to Drive" at the Greenbelt Arts Center.

Christopher Anderson/The Gazette? Elizabethann English of Washington stars as Lil Bit and Bill Brekke of Silver Spring as Uncle Peck in "How I Learned to Drive" at the Greenbelt Arts Center.

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On paper, Paula Vogel's play “How I Learned to Drive” seems like a difficult sell.

The story follows a family in rural Maryland in the 1960s specifically a man named Uncle Peck and his niece Lil' Bit. Told from her perspective as an adult, Lil' Bit recounts her strange relationship with her uncle when she was growing up.

With its exploration of molestation and incest, the play promises dark and heavy. Still, Patrick Miller, director for the upcoming Greenbelt Arts Center production, says there's more to it, including comic moments.

“It was just beautiful language and the characters are so interesting. It's a very difficult piece and it deals with some difficult subject matter and dealing with incest and in an honest and interesting way,” Miller says. “It's not altogether what you would expect.”

Miller says he was interested in the show, which runs through Feb. 11 at Greenbelt, not only because of its writing, but also its setting.

“Lil' Bit was originally from Beltsville and that area and Prince George's County,” Miller says. “In a lot of ways, this is a homecoming for the show.”

While it is easy to condemn Uncle Peck, Vogel draws several gray areas in the play. The two have a kinship as outsiders in the family. Uncle Peck is an ostracized former alcoholic and Lil' Bit tires to find a means to escape the family and attend college.

“He is actually a very sympathetic character and ... as you're watching, you really can kind of sympathize with Lil' Bit tying to him,” Miller says. “Because he really is the one person who understands her. But at the same time, there's this little voice in the back of your head that says, ‘This isn't right.'”

In creating a look for the show, Miller obtained slides from a previous 1998 production in Boston. Using projected images of carousels and cars from days gone by, Miller hopes to give the show an antiquated appearance.

“It's got kind of a home movie feel,” he says.

Elizabethann English, who plays Lil' Bit, says the slides add to the storytelling.

“It very much adds this extra dimension,” she says. “There are things that are ... unsaid during the play that can be alluded to in the pictures.”

This is English's second show in the area. Last year, she performed in Laurel Mill Playhouse's “Dancing at Lughnasa.” She says Miller, with whom she had not worked previously, was instrumental in stepping into such an interesting role.

“He's been very sensitive to some of the more challenging aspects of the play and really trying to build a sense of familiarity and bond within the cast,” English says. “And I think without that, you couldn't do the show at all, honestly, because otherwise, everyone would be walking around [on] eggshells.”

Uncle Peck is played by Bill Brekke, who last appeared in Silver Spring Stage's one-act “September 11th was a Tuesday.” Like English, he has not worked with Miller before, but says the crew worked together to break down any awkward feelings.

“When we were first rehearsing, everybody would say, ‘That's kind of creepy,' [and] this and that, but ... we're trying to play it [as though] Lil' Bit thinks she's being normal and I'm being normal,” Brekke says.

Brekke describes his character as a tragic figure unphased by taboos or societal expectations.

“The only thing Peck is morally concerned about, apparently, is whether she's being taken advantage of against her will,” Brekke says. “That seems to be his moral compass, as opposed to the law of Maryland.”

tforhecz@gazette.net

‘How I Learned to Drive'

When: 8 p.m. Jan. 20, 21, 27, 28 and Feb. 3, 4, 10, 11; 2:30 p.m. Jan. 29 and Feb. 5

Where: Greenbelt Arts Center, 123 Centerway, Greenbelt

Tickets: $17 for general admission, $14 for seniors and students (recommended for mature audiences)

For information: 301-441-8770 or www.greenbeltartscenter.org