The Trip to Bountiful (play)

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This article is about the play. For the 1985 film, see The Trip to Bountiful.

The Trip to Bountiful
Written byHorton Foote
Date premiered1953
SubjectFamily
GenreDrama
SettingHouston and Bountiful, TX

The Trip to Bountiful is a play by American playwright Horton Foote. The play premiered March 1, 1953, on NBC-TV, before being produced on the Broadway stage from November 3, 1953, to December 5, 1953.

The play involves a "woman who has to live with a daughter-in-law who hates her and a son who does not dare take her side."[1] While the unhappy family lives in a Houston apartment, Carrie Watts dreams of returning to Bountiful, where she was raised. She eventually runs away and embarks by bus to her destination. She meets several people along the way and upon her arrival, she is whisked back to Houston by her son and daughter-in-law.[1]

The play was adapted into a film of the same name, released in 1985.

Production history

The play premiered on NBC television on March 1, 1953, starring

Henry Miller's Theatre
stood) from April 23, 2013 to October 9, 2013.

Condola Rashād and Vanessa Williams.[5] The African-American cast is a non-issue because the themes are blind to race.[6]

Theatre Opening Date Closing Date Perfs. Details
Henry Miller's Theatre
, Broadway		 November 3, 1953 December 5, 1953 39[7] Broadway premiere
Peter Norton Space, New York December 4, 2005 March 11, 2006 128[8] Off-Broadway revival
Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Broadway April 23, 2013 October 9, 2013 187 (+27 previews)[3] Broadway revival

Historical casting

Role NBC Telecast
1953[9]		 Original Broadway
1953[7]		 Peter Norton revival
2005[8]		 Broadway revival
2013[3]
Carrie Watts Lillian Gish Lois Smith Cicely Tyson
Ludie Watts John Beal Gene Lyons Devon Abner Cuba Gooding Jr.
Thelma Eva Marie Saint Meghan Andrews
Condola Rashād
Jessie Mae Watts Eileen Heckart Jo Van Fleet Hallie Foote Vanessa Williams
Sheriff Frank Overton James DeMarse Tom Wopat
Houston Ticket Man Will Hare Gene Jones Devon Abner
Second Houston Ticket Man William Hansen David Clive Sam Kitchin Curtis Billings
Harrison Ticket Man Dennis Cross Frederic Downs Frank Girardeau —
Roy — — — Arthur French
Attendant Larry Bolton — — —
Travelers — Helen Cordes
Neil Laurence
Salem Ludwig
Patricia MacDonald		 — —
Ensemble — — — Pat Bowie
Leon Addison Brown
Susan Heyward
Linda Powell
Charles Turner
Others Frederic Downs
Gene Lyons
Jo Van Fleet		 — — —

Critical commentary

When the play debuted on Broadway in 1953, Brooks Atkinson wrote in The New York Times of Lillian Gish's performance in the role of Carrie Watts "As a weary old woman, homesick for her youth in the country, she gives an inspired performance that is alive in every detail and conveys unconquerable spirit."[1] Of the production, Atkinson wrote "...the performance is so pitilessly exact that you can hardly tell where the writing leaves off and the acting begins."[1] Atkinson describes Jo Van Fleet's role as Jessie Mae Watts, which earned the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play at the 8th Tony Awards as a "penetrating performance."[1]

Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Lead Actress, for her 2005 Off-Broadway leading performance as Carrie Watts.[8] Smith was lauded in The New York Times by Ben Brantley with comments such as " I had never before realized how blue and bottomless her gaze is" and she "brings pure, revivifying oxygen to the role".[10] Although a revival, Brantley noted "What this production provides that makes 'The Trip to Bountiful' seem newborn is its artful counterpoint of the smothering, claustrophobic details of daily life and Carrie's barrier-melting faith in her destiny."[10]

In order to prepare for her role in the 2013 Broadway revival, Tyson visited playwright Horton Foote's home in rural Wharton, Texas.[11] After viewing a matinee, Ben Brantley panned the production, calling it a "generally sluggish production" that "only fitfully captures the rhythms of everyday melancholy that you associate with Foote" and noted several other reservations such as, "This production allows too much dead air between lines...The show lacks the deceptively easy conversational flow" its director had previously demonstrated. He also notes that the show "often undercuts itself by broadening comic moments".[6] Regarding Ms. Tyson's character singing hymns to herself during the production, Terry Teachout commented that during numerous performances, "a fair number of people in the theater sang along with her. It didn't look to me as though she was trying to encourage them, either: They just joined in..." and that a friend told him, "Three women sitting next to me started singing along, softly at first, and by the second hymn a good part of the audience was joyously singing with them. The theater was everyone's church that night, not just mine. To describe it sounds hokey, but it was anything but."[12]

Awards and nominations

Original 1953 Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee Result
1954
Tony Award
 Best Featured Actress in a Play Jo Van Fleet Won
Outer Critics Circle Award
 Special Award Eva Marie Saint Won[13]
Theatre World Award Eva Marie Saint Won

2005 Off-Broadway revival

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2006 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Revival of a Play Nominated
Outstanding Actress in a Play Lois Smith Won
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Devon Abner Nominated
Outstanding Lighting Design John McKernon Nominated
Lifetime Achievement Horton Foote Won
Outer Critics Circle Award
 Outstanding Actress in a Play Lois Smith Won
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Hallie Foote Nominated
Outstanding Revival of a Play Nominated
Obie Award Distinguished Performance by an Actress Lois Smith Won
Lucille Lortel Award
 Outstanding Revival Won
Outstanding Director Harris Yulin Won
Outstanding Lead Actress Lois Smith Won
Outstanding Featured Actress Hallie Foote Won
Meghan Andrews Nominated
Outstanding Costume Design Martin Pakledinaz Nominated
Outstanding Lighting Design John McKernon Nominated

2013 Broadway revival

The Broadway production was recognized with

Artios Award nomination from The Casting Society of America for Outstanding Achievement in Casting, New York Broadway Theatre – Drama.[18]

Year Award Category Nominee Result
2013 Drama League Award Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play Nominated[14]
Distinguished Performance Award Cicely Tyson Nominated[14]
Vanessa L. Williams
 Nominated[14]
Outer Critics Circle Award
 Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) Nominated[15]
Outstanding Director of a Play Michael Wilson Nominated[15]
Outstanding Actress in a Play Cicely Tyson Won[15]
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Vanessa L. Williams Nominated[15]
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Revival of a Play Nominated[16]
Outstanding Actress in a Play Cicely Tyson Won[16]
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Vanessa L. Williams Nominated[16]
Tony Award (67th
) 		Best Revival of a Play Nominated[17]
Best Actress in a Play Cicely Tyson Won[17]
Best Featured Actress in a Play
Condola Rashād
 Nominated[17]
Best Sound Design John Gromada Nominated[17]
Artios Award
 Outstanding Achievement in Casting
New York Broadway Theatre – Drama 		David Caparelliotis Nominated[18]

Film adaptations

The Trip to Bountiful was adapted into a 1985 film starring Geraldine Page. Page won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

A made-for-television remake premiered on March 8, 2014 on the

Primetime Emmy Award
nomination for her performance.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Atkinson, Brooks (November 4, 1953). "First Night at the Theatre: Lillian Gish Gives a Notable performance in Foote's 'The Trip to Bountiful'". The New York Times. p. 30. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  2. ProQuest 178656239
    .
  3. ^ a b c "Trip to Bountiful Extends Broadway Run Through Summer". Playbill.com. May 8, 2013. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  4. ^ Piepenburg, Erik (December 3, 2012). "Cicely Tyson to Star in 'Trip to Bountiful' on Broadway". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  5. ^ McGrath, Charles (December 20, 2012). "Gooding, Williams, Rashad Join 'Trip to Bountiful' Cast". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Brantley, Ben (April 23, 2013). "Home Is Where the Years Disappear: 'The Trip to Bountiful,' at the Stephen Sondheim Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  7. ^
    IBDB.com
    . Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c "The Trip to Bountiful (2005)". Lortel Archive. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  9. IMDb.com
    . Retrieved May 5, 2013.
  10. ^ a b Brantley, Ben (December 5, 2005). "There's No Place Like an Imaginary Home". The New York Times. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  11. ^ Murphy, Kate (April 12, 2013). "Back Home in Texas, for the First Time". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  12. ^ Teachout, Terry (May 9, 2013). "Theatergoers: Can I Get an Amen?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  13. ^ "The Trip to Bountiful". Playbill. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  14. ^ a b c d Gans, Andrew (May 17, 2013). "'Kinky Boots', 'Pippin', 'Vanya and Sonia', 'Virginia 'Woolf? and More Win Drama League Awards". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c d e Gans, Andrew (May 13, 2013). "Pippin Is Big Winner of 2012-13 Outer Critics Circle Awards". Playbill. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  16. ^ a b c d Hetrick, Adam (May 19, 2013). "Billy Porter, Andrea Martin, Pippin, Matilda, Vanya and Sonia Win Drama Desk Awards". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  17. ^ a b c d e Purcell, Carey (June 9, 2013). "Kinky Boots, Vanya and Sonia, Pippin and Virginia Woolf? Are Big Winners at 67th Annual Tony Awards". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  18. ^ a b Purcell, Carey (August 19, 2013). "The Assembled Parties, Kinky Boots, Glengarry Glen Ross and More Nominated for Artios Awards". Playbill. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  19. ^ Lifetimes from Broadway accessed 1/23/2014

External links

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