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A CurtainUp Connecticut Review
The Orphans' Home Cycle: Part I
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He's peculiar in many ways, I know, but he's been good to me and Lily Dale, and he has no bad habits.— Corella
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Annalee Jefferies and Bill Heck.
[Photo by T. Charles Erickson) |
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It was Wilson who commissioned the playwright to rework nine of his plays into a three-play cycle, which runs its world premiere through Oct. 24 at Hartford stage, in collaboration with New York's Signature Theater Company, where it opens November 5th. Wilson's love for the project shines through.
The Orphans' Home Cycle follows the lives of three families in the fictitious town of Harrison, TX and spans three decades. Some 22 actors play 70 roles on a sumptuous multi-purpose set by Jeff Cowie and David Barber that looks like a quilt-framed snapshot of days gone by, with the pictures in the frame shifting into the various rooms, porches and settings where that past played out.
Bill Heck stars as Horace Robedaux who remembers details of his family life around the turn of the century. We see young Horace (played by a surprisingly deep Dylan Riley Snyder at age 12 and by able Henry Hodges at age 14) help his little sister Lilly Dale (Georgi James, whose wig unfortunately looks like a wig and is the only thing that seems out of place in the production) deal with their parents separation and the alcohol-related death of their father Paul Horace (also played by Heck).
Abandoned by his mother Corella (played at different ages by Virginia Krull and Annalee Jeffries) when she remarries Pete Davenport (played by Bryce Pinkham and Devon Abner) who welcomes only Lily into his home, Horace is left to fend for himself and is sent to a distant uncle to take a job working among convicts. Finally, as a young man, he visits his mother, sister and stepfather, and finds he is as unwelcome as ever (he's only allowed to stay after a bout with malaria leaves him too weak to travel). The streak of selfishness that allowed a now regretful Corella to sacrifice him for her own security has flared in the self-absorbed Lily Dale who happily spends her time charming a beau and forcing everyone to listen to her play an endless etude on the piano.
A special treat is the casting of Foote's daughter Hallie in two roles in a work that largely is based on their own family's experiences. All of the performances, without exception, deserve highest praise. Even Pamela Wright, who probably has the least amount of stage time, stands out. She is a hoot as the well intentioned by bible-thumping elderly traveler Horace meets twice on the train.
The design team really has struck gold with the set (the opening sequence that graphically spells out, literally, the play about to unfold, is a marvel. The visual experience is enhanced by projection design by Jan Hartley that transforms a living room into a swamp and all of the scenes are enhanced by a wondrous array of sounds created by designer John Gromada. .
Foote's story, deftly handled by Wilson, is warm, humorous, sad and absorbing. The three-hour runtime only leaves you waiting for Part II, which will follow Horace into courtship and marriage.
Review of Part 2
Review of Part 3
Editor's Note: Stay tuned for our take on this epic when it opens at the Signature's New York home. For more about Horton Foote and links to other plays by him reviewed at curtainup.com, see our Horton Foote Backgrounder
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The Orphans' Home Cycle: Part One By Horton Foote Directed by Michael Wilson Cast: Annalee Jeffries (Mrs. Thornton), Dylan Riley Snyder, (Horace Robedaux, age 12), Virginia Kull (Corella Robedaux, as a young woman), Georgi James (Lily Dale Robedaux, age 10), Maggie Lacey (Inez Thornton, as a young woman), Justin Fuller (Albert Thornton), Jenny Dare Paulin (Minnie Curtis, age 17, Lily Dale Robedaux), Matt Mulhern (Mr. Ritter, Billy Vaughn), Hallie Foote (Mrs. Robedaux, Asa Vaughn), Bill Heck (Horace Robedaux, Paul Horace Robedaux), Devon Abner (John Howard, Pete Davenport), Lucas Caleb Rooney (George Tyler, as a young man, Sheriff), Henry Hodges (Lloyd, Horace Robedaux, age 14)), Bryce Pinkham (Pete Davenport, as a young man), Pat Bowie (Martha Johnson), Charles Turner (Ben Johnson), Gilbert Owuor (Leroy Kendricks), James DeMarse (Soll Gautier), Leon Addison Brown (Jackson Hall), Pamela Payton-Wright (Mrs. Coons), Stephen Plunkett (Will Kidder) Scenic Design: Jeff Cowie and David Barber Projections Design: Jan Hartley Lighting Design: Rui Rita Original Music and Sound Design: John Gromada Costume Design: David C. Woolard Choreographer/Movement Director: Maxwell Williams Wig and Hair Design: Mark Adam Rampmeyer Fight Director: Mark Olsen Running time: 3 hours with two 10-minute intermissions Hartford Stage, 50 Church St., Hartford Performances: Performance times vary for the three parts of the cycle. Parts I, II and II may be seen on consecutive weeknights or in two Saturday marathons. Tickets are $38 to $65 for a single performance and $177 to $192 for the marathon Student, educator and group discounts are available 860-527-5151 or online at http://www.hartfordstage.org/. Sept. 3-Oct.16 Review by Lauren Yarger based on performance of Sept. 9, 2009 |
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