Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Horton Foote’s warm, bittersweet THE ROADS TO HOME is a rich love letter to Harrison, TX

• By drediman
• October 21, 2016
• No Comments

The cast of “The Roads to Home” at the Cherry Lane Theatre

I always cherish my trips to the fictitious Texas town of Harrison via the late, great Horton Foote’s plays. Although Mr. Foote almost always set his engrossing, gentle plays in Harrison (a stand-in for his hometown of Wharton), the warm but bittersweet The Roads to Home is one of the few plays not set there; the first act is set in Houston, and the second act is set in Austin. Nevertheless, Harrison and its inhabitants – former and current – are front and center. The play, ultimately, is a richly written love letter to Harrison.

The play’s first act, set in 1924 Houston, depicts a middle-aged Houston house wife (Mabel) and her affection for a young, mentally unstable visitor (Annie). Both are from Harrison and share wistful stories about mutual acquaintances. This shared love for their hometown eludes their respective families and friends, and eventually other drama ensues. The second act takes place four years later in a mental asylum in Austin, where Annie has been committed. At once heartbreaking and unbearably sweet, Annie continues to hold onto memories of Harrison as if they were close enough to touch.

Luckily, this current Primary Stages revival has three great purveyors of Mr. Foote’s legacy. Director Michael Wilson has staged many exquisite productions of his plays over the years, and here he continues that trend, sensitively. As Mabel and Jack (Mabel’s husband), Hallie Foote – the playwright’s daughter – and Devon Abner, respectively, are clear-eyed masters at communicating Mr. Foote’s voice without resorting to sentimentality; both have been in countless of his plays in the past. The rest of the cast is also outstanding, which includes Dan Bittner, Rebecca Brooksher, Matt Sullivan, and the fabulous Harriet Harris.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE ROAD HOME
Off-Broadway, Play
Primary Stages at the Cherry Lane Theatre
2 hours, 5 minutes (with one intermission)
Through November 27