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Three Plays: Dividing the Estate / The Trip to Bountiful / The Young Man from Atlanta
Sometimes called the American Chekhov, Horton Foote has been mapping the rich emotional terrain just beneath the plan, quiet surfaces of his small-town characters for well over half a century. This anthology brings together three of his most critically acclaimed plays.
222 pages, Paperback
First published January 8, 2009
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About the author
Horton Foote
125 books48 followersAlbert Horton Foote, Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and the 1983 film Tender Mercies, and his notable live television dramas during the Golden Age of Television. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1995 for his play The Young Man From Atlanta.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 9, 2020
Gentle studies of the phases people go through before making do with life’s letdowns. Just terrific.
June 16, 2012
horton foote is actually A-MA-ZING and i don't know why it has taken me this long to fall in love with him. i think i avoided his work for long because of the impression i got (from somewhere) that it was fusty and old-fashioned and dry and southern (like Beth Henley's grandpa or something) but it turns out that i was dead wrong.
it's not his fault that he's not some flashy avant-stylist (Shepard) or big personality (Mamet). if you had to accuse him of even having a "style, it probably would be "simple and quiet." but the fact of the matter is he knew how to tell an incredibly moving story, simply and quietly, and that is basically impossible to do in the theatre. the word 'chekhovian' gets bandied around a lot these days, but this is the closest i've ever felt to a real american (granted: southern)Chekhov.
"the trip to bountiful" is good -- a solid, moving example of a road play -- maybe my least favorite in this collection, but that really doesn't mean anything. "the young man from atlanta" is SO good -- like astonishingly good -- so gripping and simple but every beat and character feels eerily earned. the masterpiece here, though, is "dividing the estate," which is the play i started with and the play which made me realize i had horton foote all wrong. it's a Great American Family Drama -- and i actually mean great. the scope is huge, its so gracefully orchestrated, it's touching AND it's funny. which is the weirdest thing. horton foote is funny!
the i went and watched his movie "Tender Mercies," which was great -- and that really gives you a sense of how his style "plays" if you need it.
anyway, read this if you care.
i'm probably going to start the Orphan's Home cycle now...
it's not his fault that he's not some flashy avant-stylist (Shepard) or big personality (Mamet). if you had to accuse him of even having a "style, it probably would be "simple and quiet." but the fact of the matter is he knew how to tell an incredibly moving story, simply and quietly, and that is basically impossible to do in the theatre. the word 'chekhovian' gets bandied around a lot these days, but this is the closest i've ever felt to a real american (granted: southern)Chekhov.
"the trip to bountiful" is good -- a solid, moving example of a road play -- maybe my least favorite in this collection, but that really doesn't mean anything. "the young man from atlanta" is SO good -- like astonishingly good -- so gripping and simple but every beat and character feels eerily earned. the masterpiece here, though, is "dividing the estate," which is the play i started with and the play which made me realize i had horton foote all wrong. it's a Great American Family Drama -- and i actually mean great. the scope is huge, its so gracefully orchestrated, it's touching AND it's funny. which is the weirdest thing. horton foote is funny!
the i went and watched his movie "Tender Mercies," which was great -- and that really gives you a sense of how his style "plays" if you need it.
anyway, read this if you care.
i'm probably going to start the Orphan's Home cycle now...
April 14, 2016
The Trip To Bountiful -
It's been years since I read a play, maybe 40 ( high-school ) , but this edition without extensive stage directions was an easy read. Mrs. Carrie Watts lives with her son Ludie and daughter-in-law Jessie Mae in a cramped Houston apartment, but longs to return to her roots in Bountiful. This is a very touching story of how the past shapes our lives, gives us safe harbor, and never really leaves us. I heard that Cicely Tyson came out of retirement to play the role of Mrs. Watts on Broadway in 2013 and that it was stunning. Horton Foote, the critically acclaimed author, is famous for writing plays with very plausible characters and this is no exception.
The trip to Bountiful is an emotional journey. 4.5 stars
It's been years since I read a play, maybe 40 ( high-school ) , but this edition without extensive stage directions was an easy read. Mrs. Carrie Watts lives with her son Ludie and daughter-in-law Jessie Mae in a cramped Houston apartment, but longs to return to her roots in Bountiful. This is a very touching story of how the past shapes our lives, gives us safe harbor, and never really leaves us. I heard that Cicely Tyson came out of retirement to play the role of Mrs. Watts on Broadway in 2013 and that it was stunning. Horton Foote, the critically acclaimed author, is famous for writing plays with very plausible characters and this is no exception.
The trip to Bountiful is an emotional journey. 4.5 stars
August 11, 2017
I loved The Trip to Bountiful, but I'm ashamed to say I was lukewarm on the other two. These particular southern struggles didn't feel accessible to me and that may have coloured my reading, but I guess Horton Foote just isn't my bag.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews