OUR 2006 TOUR: THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL


The Trip to Bountiful tells the story of Carrie Watts, an elderly woman who flees the stifling confinement of the city apartment she shares with her son and daughter-in-law to revisit her hometown in the low farmland of the Texas coast. There she discovers, amid the ruin and decay of time's passage, the satisfaction of a life well-lived and a renewed connection to her past. The play deals with two topics close to the heart: How to cope with parents as they age, and the existential tug we all have in our hearts for "home."

From this simple premise Horton Foote has crafted a play of enormous emotional power. For it is the simple things that move us the most: a swing on an old front porch, the childhood recollection of a golden summer, the fleeting touch of a first love, or the lost look in a pair of old eyes. This is the palette with which Foote works--simple human needs and wishes of folks who seem a lot like us.

Horton Foot came to national prominence with his masterful screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird. With great sensitivity, Foote deftly reworked Harper Lee's beloved story for the screen, winning an Academy Award for his efforts. His second Oscar came for Tender Mercies, the story of a washed-up country singer who finds inspiration to pull his life back together through the support of a young widow and her son. The Trip to Bountiful won an Oscar for Geraldine Page's heartfelt performance. In addition to his Oscars, Horton Foote was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for playwriting in 1995 for his play, The Young Man from Atlanta.

Horton Foot is a national treasure. As The Los Angeles Times stated, "What seems remarkable about Foote's career is that across all media and amid all the conflicts of art versus commerce...he has produced a coherent body of work...an intimate, loving, perceptive exploration of ordinary people and their extraordinary resilience."

Foot remains an active playwright, having created an impressive body of work for the stage, screen, and television, including scripts for the prestigious "Playhouse 90," "Studio One," and "The Philco Television Playhouse." He has written over forty plays and scripts and received numerous major awards, including his recent (2002) American Theatre Critics/Steinberg New Play Award for The Carpetbagger's Children. For over fifty years, this gifted and prolific writer has inspired us with his insight, wisdom, and gentle humor. We are graced to be in his presence. Come, take The Trip to Bountiful with us.

Click to download our tour itinerary for The Trip to Bountiful (PDF format).