The Emmy, Oscar and Pulitzer Prize winner best known for a trio of outstanding screenplays (“To Kill a Mockingbird,” “Tender Mercies,” “The Trip to Bountiful”) routinely embraced universal themes of family, home and security when crafting his relatable plays, predominately set in his native Texas. Encompassing three generations of the Gordon family at a pivotal impasse, “Estate” thrives on an appealingly folksy authenticity and a deliberate focus on heritage.
“The legacy of Horton Foote is secure because the plots and characterizations will have something to say for this generation and future generations,” said director Ralph Dennler, a longtime admirer of “Tender Mercies” excited to helm his first Foote play. “You do not have to be from ‘Harrison, Texas’ to feel the genuineness of these folks who never seem to forget a thing that has happened in past generations of their clan or the town they live in, for that matter. And they always seem ready to get on with their lives. Humor is always a part of it. Never a cheap ‘formula’ joke but a more satisfying humor that comes from the characters and the plot.”
The Gordons are certainly an amusing, opinionated bunch, but they also share an infighting kinship with the Lomans of “Death of a Salesman,” the Pollitts of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and the Westons of “August: Osage County,” to name only a few. A considerably flustered family in crisis has always been a launching pad for dysfunctional fireworks, ultimately captivating artists and audiences alike.
“The lack of conflict in an all- too-perfect family makes for little drama and less entertainment,” Dennler said. “Any family that is even a little off-center allows a playwright, and eventually, an actor, to find a unique person in a unique situation that, when all is done well, compels us to watch. And in the best of these plays (they) take an audience to a place they have never known to feel things they have never felt.”
The cast, a combination of Guild regulars and newcomers, will be led by Gayle Smith as matriarch Stella, Barbara Jorgensen (a splendid Grandma Kurnitz in the Guild production of “Lost in Yonkers” last fall) as Stella’s widowed daughter Lucille, Julie Hauwiller as Lucille’s sister Mary Jo and Greg Smith as Lucille’s alcoholic brother Lewis. Claire Alemdar, Carita Brewer, Geoff Burkman, Tory Easterling Doby, Lori Grissom, Franklin Johnson, Wendi Michael, Bernadette Rose and Jeff Sams complete the ensemble.
While Dennler and his cast continue exploring the artistic riches of Foote’s “Estate,” they are mindful of its relevance in addition to the enduring significance of its creator, who died in 2009 at the age of 92.
“We see ‘Estate’ as a story for our times. I find it fascinating as I learn more about this one-of-a- kind funny family (who) tugs at your heartstrings. (Foote has) this wonderful ability to create very real characters whose lives often contain heartbreak and a rugged determination to carry on somehow all in one package.”
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