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Why Horton Foote?
There are very few playwrights in the American theater who write with the depth, sensitivity and honesty of Horton Foote. Now beginning his seventh decade as a writer for the stage, Horton has been a veritable quiet giant of the stage and screen, unsentimentally capturing the thoughts, hearts and everyday activities of small-town America with a signature delicacy and understated intensity. His works are often compared to those of Anton Chekhov, and he shares much with that master of dramatic writing: a focus on a very specific class of people (in Foote’s case, most often the inhabitants of Harrison, Texas, a fictionalized town patterned after his own hometown of Wharton, Texas); an eye for the telling details of his characters’ lives; and, beneath the ordinary surface of his dramatic creations, a sociological, historical and emotional depth that is unexpectedly profound. Eschewing grand drama or theatrical broad strokes, Horton’s work is finely observed and deceptively subtle, with an artfulness and complexity that sneaks up on and transports its audiences.
The Trip to Bountiful is one of Horton’s finest works—a story of seemingly ordinary people that is told with heartbreaking and brilliantly life-affirming delicacy. Revived with exquisite care and insight by director Harris Yulin (one of my favorite collaborators, whom I had the joy of directing in last season’s premiere of Frank’s Home) at New York’s Signature Theatre last year, the production featured a masterful, landmark performance by Lois Smith, who won a well-deserved Obie Award for her work. I am thrilled that Harris, Lois and other members of the Signature cast (including Horton’s daughter, the distinguished actress Hallie Foote) could come to the Goodman to recreate this triumphant production. At the same time, Horton’s play Talking Pictures and the one-act plays Blind Date and The Actor will allow audiences to witness the incredible range of empathy and insight in his work. In particular, the coupling of the short plays shows Horton at his comic best, in pieces that are lovely, charming and very funny. Our celebration of Horton’s work will also include screenings of some of his greatest films, a panel discussion featuring some of the notable actors with whom he has worked and a discussion with Horton himself, about his rich life and career.
Unbelievably, it has been 10 years since the Goodman has presented a work by this wonderful writer: my production of his Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Young Man from Atlanta in 1997, an experience that I remember with particular fondness. A decade after that extraordinary play, it seems only fitting to look more closely at the prolific work of this remarkable artist. I’m pleased that our Horton Foote Festival will make Chicago’s audiences more familiar with the life and the delicate, eloquent artistry of one of America’s premier writers.
Robert Falls
Artistic Director
Click here for more information on the Horton Foote Festival.