Great Reason To Return To Osage County In FebruaryAccording to
Playbill, Tony Award winning actress
Elizabeth Ashley is now set to tackle the plum dramatic role of Broadway's favorite wacky Aunt Mattie Fae Aiken in
August: Osage County.
Ashley will replace
Molly Regan, the
Steppenwolf ensemble member who herself had replaced the amazing
Rondi Reed. In June, Reed won a very well-deserved Tony for her portrayal, which
London audiences are now enjoying).
While I've had two opportunities to see Ashley tread the boards of Broadway -- in 2003's
Enchanted April and in the excellent 2000 revival of
Gore Vidal's The Best Man -- my biggest regret of this year has been my inability to see Ashley perform in
Horton Foote's
Dividing The Estate.
Given how much I admire her tremendous body of work, I just may opt to see
August: Osage County for my fifth time. I can only imagine how delicious it would be to see her opposite
Estelle Parsons.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: August Osage County, Broadway, Dividing The Estate, Elizabeth Ashley, Enchanted April, Estelle Parsons, Gore Vidal's The Best Man, Molly Regan, Replacements, Rondi Reed
Critics Undivided In Praise Of EstateLast night,
Horton Foote's Off-Broadway hit
Dividing The Estate opened at Broadway's
Booth Theatre. Directed by
Michael Wilson, the
Lincoln Center Theatre presentation stars
Elizabeth Ashley, ,
Arthur French,
Penny Fuller and
Gerald McRaney. Critics were fairly united in their positive reviews.
Calling the show "tart and delicious,"
The New York Times'
Ben Brantley praises, singling out the playwright's own daughter for special attention: "As played with true comic genius by Hallie Foote, the covetous, calculating Mary Jo has absolutely no sense of humor. But it’s hard to think of anyone on a Broadway stage right now ... who’s funnier.... [E]ven without the gloss of relevance it has acquired since its New York premiere Off Broadway in September 2007,
Dividing the Estate would still be a must for discriminating theatergoers. This production -- which arrives with most of its original cast, directed with hair-trigger timing by Michael Wilson -- has ripened into an ideally balanced ensemble piece, with acting that matches and magnifies Mr. Foote’s slyly and acutely observant writing."
Noting that the "deeply humanistic and funny play is old-fashioned in the best sense,"
New York Post's
Frank Scheck awards three-and-a-half stars out of four: "Director Michael Wilson's assured production features a wonderful ensemble cast whose seamless work feels even more lived-in than it did earlier. It's easy to believe that this loving but endlessly bickering clan would drive themselves crazy if they failed to live up to the task of the play's title.... While all of the performances are first-rate, special praise must be reserved for Hallie Foote, the playwright's daughter."
Labeling the show a "sweetly satirical comedy,"
Variety's
David Rooney is charmed: "The well-worn scenario is familiar from more than one chestnut of Southern drama. But the playwright's work, as always, is distinguished by the delicate brushstrokes of his characterizations, making seasoned stereotypes human and giving even the most venal of them some hint of redeeming vulnerability. Perhaps even more essential to the old-fashioned play's appeal is Foote's deep understanding of the personalities within a precisely defined subculture.... Under Michael Wilson's decorous direction, the cast has deepened its ties while maintaining the light touch, the relaxed flow and the melodiousness of the talk that are essential to Foote's plays."
Relieved that the play is "blessedly unchanged" from its earlier incarnation, Bloomberg's
John Simon offers laurels: "A very late play such as “Dividing the Estate” is easily as good as, if not better than, his best earlier work....
Dividing the Estate will draw you into its drawing room and the shadows beyond with the theatrical equivalent of a page- turner, capturing your undivided attention as you hang on its teasing turmoil in guiltlessly glad complicity.
Concluding that "It's not as profound or ambitious as Broadway's other multigenerational melee,
August: Osage County, but Foote's fine play does go down easy,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News provides three-and-a-half stars out of five: "Under the deft direction of Michael Wilson, the actors are keener and the handsome production feels tighter. The drastic economic turndown, meanwhile, has given the situation tearing at the needy, greedy Gordon clan an even tangier bite.... Stage vet Ashley is highly amusing, even if she is about two decades too young to play an 85-year-old."
Looks like the show is clearly a winner. Look for it to receive multiple Tony nominations next spring.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Dividing The Estate, Elizabeth Ashley, Gerald McRaney, Hallie Foote, Horton Foote, Lincoln Center, Michael Wilson, Penny Fuller, Play, Transfer
Opening Broadway's Estate SaleThis evening, the show that is arguably the most anticipated play to transfer to Broadway this season --
Horton Foote's acclaimed Off-Broadway hit from last fall
Dividing The Estate -- opens this evening at the
Booth Theatre.
Presented by
Lincoln Center Theatre (a "little" revival of a
rarely seen musical continues to grace
its stages), the
Michael Wilson-helmed production includes much of the original cast, including such marquee names as
Elizabeth Ashley, ,
Arthur French,
Penny Fuller and
Gerald McRaney. The cast also includes
Devon Abner,
Pat Bowie,
James DeMarse,
Virginia Kull,
Maggie Lacey,
Nicole Lowrance,
Jenny Dare Paulin and
Keiana Richard.
Will
Dividing The Estate unite critics in praising the show once again? Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Dividing The Estate, Elizabeth Ashley, Gerald McRaney, Hallie Foote, Horton Foote, Lincoln Center, Michael Wilson, Opening Night, Penny Fuller, Play, Transfer
Broadway Preview: Dividing the EstateAs
noted here on March 17,
Horton Foote's acclaimed Off-Broadway hit from last fall
Dividing The Estate will transfer this fall to the Great White Way. Foote earned an
Obie Award for his play centering on what happens to the wealthy Gordon Family of Harrison, Texas after there's been a significant death in the family.
First produced at
Primary Stages, the Rialto mounting will play the
Booth Theatre, long the commercial home of prestige shows. The transfer will once again be directed by
Michael Wilson and include much of the original cast, including such marquee names as
Elizabeth Ashley, ,
Arthur French,
Penny Fuller and
Gerald McRaney. Rounding out the cast are
Devon Abner,
Pat Bowie,
James DeMarse,
Virginia Kull,
Maggie Lacey,
Nicole Lowrance,
Jenny Dare Paulin and
Keiana Richard .
Currently, the show is set to begin previews on October 23, with opening night slated for November 20. With an open-ended run scheduled, could this look at an American family become this year's
August: Osage County? Given
Broadway & Me's glowing review, which stated in part:
...without a doubt, the best of these battling broods are the Gordons in Horton Foote's thoroughly entertaining Dividing The Estate.
it may very well prove that the renewed life on Broadway among American playwrights is no fluke. And wouldn't it be dandy if that wonderfully talented and still prolific nonagenarian named Horton Foote brought home that point?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Labels: Broadway, Broadway and Me, Dividing The Estate, Elizabeth Ashley, Gerald McRaney, Hallie Foote, Horton Foote, Michael Wilson, Penny Fuller, Play, Transfer
Broadway Estate PlanningEver since
Horton Foote's acclaimed
Dividing The Estate enjoyed its Gotham premiere last fall at Off-Broadway's
Primary Stages, a Broadway transfer has been rumored. Now it's a reality.
According to Variety, the play will be mounted by Lincoln Center Theatre beginning in October at a Shubert Theatre to be announced.
Gordon Cox writes that
Michael Wilson (
Old Acquaintance) will once again direct much of the original cast, including
Elizabeth Ashley, (the playwright's daughter),
Arthur French,
Penny Fuller and
Gerald McRaney. Wilson worked with Ashley during her last Main Stem appearance in
Enchanted April five years ago.
And speaking of Horton Foote -- who just celebrated his 92nd birthday last Friday --
Chicago's Goodman Theatre is currently in the midst of its timely celebration of the great playwright with its own
Horton Foote Festival. Its centerpiece production is another critical darling from Off-Broadway,
The Trip To Bountiful. Look for an SOB Review of that show in the days to come.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Chicago, Dividing The Estate, Elizabeth Ashley, First Word On New Show, Goodman Theatre, Horton Foote, Penny Fuller, Play, Transfer
