Arts & Entertainment

'Bountiful' is trip through emotions

By Chris Brunt
The Daily Cougar

Horton Foote is without question the premier playwright of the South. No, sorry, that would be Tennessee Williams. To amend slightly: Horton Foote is the last premier playwright of the South. Provided you swallow this blatantly obscene exaggeration, nothing is left except to head to the Alley Theatre and take in A Trip to Bountiful, now playing on the main stage.

T. Charles Erickson/Alley Theatre

Bountiful is a well-crafted and intently focused play, clearly the work of a distinguished old gentleman of the theater, but if sentimental melodrama is even remotely distasteful to your palate, steer clear.

Otherwise line iem up, and donit forget the handkerchiefs.

Bountiful is a standard-length two act set in 1952 Texas. The basic plot concerns the elderly Mrs.Carrie Watts, her son Ludie and his wife Jessie Mae. Carrie is from the ancient Texas farming village of Bountiful, where she raised her family with her late husband. 

Carrie had been hauled kicking and screaming to Houston by Ludie and Jessie Mae under the pretense of her ailing health, but of course, thereis more beneath the surface. The play opens in Ludieis small house, where Carrie appears to be the prisoner of her spineless son and evil stepdaughter. 

Carrieis only dream is of returning to Bountiful before she dies, but the youngsters obstruct her goal. The action heats up when Carrie makes a mad dash for the bus station to recover her past.

Ludie Watts is performed by Devon Abner, a Foote favorite, whose onstage persona resembles something like a castrated Ed Harris. His role isnit nearly as emphasized as one might imagine, being a pretty crucial part of the trio, but this may be due to Abneris failure to project. 

He has but one voice, a monotone whimper always directed at Momma or Jessie Mae, and the frustration one feels as a viewer probably enhances the playwrightis intentions. This is a good example for stage directors: when casting a pathetic character, itis all about the voice.

Jessie Mae is played by Hallie Foote. Her deep southern accent sounds more Dutch than Dallas, and if you think that wonit bother you, think again. Someone please pluck Susan Sarandon from the anti-war picket line and pencil in the substitution.

The savior of this production, not counting the colorful parts filled by the superb Alley Resident Company, is the center of it all, Dee Maaske as Mrs. Carrie Watts. She balances beautifully the poles of fragility and vigorous willpower.

If it werenit for the distracting stage music that persisted throughout, her handling of the playis climax would bring even the most callous soul to pity.

This play covers every big Southern theme: the interpretation of nostalgia, the tragic decay of rural America, the transient nature of oneis identity and, underpinning the whole affair, the indomitable vitality of the human spirit.

A Trip to Bountiful runs through May 10. For more information visit www.alleytheatre.org.

Horton Foote

A Trip to Bountiful

Alley Theatre

The verdict: Dee Maaskeis performance is of a rare caliber, and this play is tailored for her.

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