[NEohioPAL] Berko review: THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL @ Cleveland Play House

[Roy Berko]

TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL is a marvelous journey at CPH

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association)

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Take a well crafted play by one of America's best down-home writers; produce it 
under the guidance of a masterful director who understands the script and its 
nuances; add a cast, each of whom adds a textured performance; and interject 
meaningful musical underscoring and lighting that sets the right mood in every 
scene.  The results:  THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL at the Cleveland Play House.

On the surface,  BOUNTIFUL is the story of an elderly woman with a heart 
condition, who is determined to escape her son's cramped Houston home and return 
to the small town where she was born and raised.  But, in reality, it is about 
the search for self, the meaning of roots, the importance of self-dignity, 
nostalgia, and the desire to be an independent person.

To understand the nuances of the play, it helps to be in touch with Horton 
Foote, Jr., the play's author and his style of writing.  Pulitzer Prize winning 
Foote, who died several years ago, was born in  the small Texas town of 
Wharton.  His life experiences in that setting were the basis for many of his 
writings.  He creates the well-made play which has a clear flow from beginning 
to end.  There is a gentleness, a celebration of the quiet life of rural 
Americans in his plays' fictional small towns.  Probably best known for his 
Academy Award-winning screenplay for the 1962 film TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, he is 
correctly cited as one of America's most beloved dramatists.  He's not as well 
known to the general public as Williams, Miller, Inge, Albee or O'Neil, but he 
is a theatre icon to those in the theatrical know who appreciate his understated 
and focused style.

THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL was originally a 1953 television show, which  stared 
Lillian Gish, with appearances by Eileen Heckart and Bowling Green State 
University grad Eva Marie Saint.  A movie version was delayed because Foote 
insisted that Gish play the lead role and those in Hollywood, who controlled the 
production rights, refused to cast her. The script also had a short run on 
Broadway with Gish. Finally, in 1985, a film was made with Geraldine Page in the 
lead. 

The CPH production, under the masterful guidance of Timothy Douglas, is 
meticulous in detail and nuance.   It was Douglas's idea to make a major 
alteration in the way the script has been performed in the past.   Previous 
stagings have always had Caucasians in the major roles.  Douglas, who has a 
great deal of respect for Lizan Mitchell, who plays the lead in this production, 
wanted to work on a project with the actress.  Knowing that there were few roles 
for “women of a certain age” [mature], he started to look for a script.  He 
suddenly realized that there was no reason that one of his favorite plays, THE 
TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL, had to have a white cast.  The message is universal, the 
accents and sound of the play are small town Texas, which was populated by both 
white and black folk.  He contacted Foote's daughter, who  controls the rights 
to her father's plays.  She immediately gave permission.  The rest, as they say, 
is history….history which is now unfolding on the CPH stage.  

We should be grateful to Douglas for his insight.  The script works perfectly 
with no adjustments in dialogue.  In fact, those who don't know that it was not 
written to be performed by blacks will be astounded to find out that this is not 
a script like those of Lorraine Hansberry (e.g., A RAISIN IN THE SUN), which are 
specifically written for black performers and there is no way to switch races.

Lizan Mitchell gives a bravo performance as Carrie Watts.  This is a textured, 
deeply motivated, clearly conceived presentation.  With a smile, a wink, a 
frown, or a scowl, she creates depth of characterization.  Her face is like a 
road map to her feelings.  She has several mesmerizing soliloquies that are 
acting lessons on how those speeches should be performed.  She glistens, she 
shines, she makes the audience laugh and cry!

The rest of the cast is equally as impressive.  There is not a weak link in the 
emotional chain.  Jessica Frances Dukes, is “bitch” incarnate as the insecure 
and self-centered Thelma, Carrie's daughter-in-law.  Howard Overshown, as 
Carrie's son, Ludie, shows all the signs of being psychologically whipped by his 
wife and made uncertain by his lack of self-confidence.  When, as he does in the 
final scene, stands up to Ludie, several members of the audience audibly 
cheered.  Chinai Hardy as Jessie Mae, a young woman who Carrie meets on a bus 
while trying to escape from her confining hell, is sweet and tender and 
convincing.  Lawrence Redmond as the sheriff, and Doug Brown, in various roles, 
give credible performances.

Lighting designer Christopher Studley leads our visual senses through the moods 
of the play by masterfully developing the early scenes in dark tones, mimicking 
Carrie's frustrated frame of mind.  When she finally returns to where she wants 
to be, the lights brighten, mimicking the clear burst of light that has come 
into her life.

The musical underscoring is right on pitch in creating the moods of the script.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:  TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL is a tender, moving and sometimes 
delightful script, which gets a wonderful production at the Cleveland Play 
House.  It's a go to, must see, theatrical experience.  Finally, a production 
that got a mandatory  Cleveland standing ovation, and deserved it.

TRIP TO THE BOUNTIFUL runs through February 27 at the Cleveland Play House.  For 
tickets call 216-795-7000 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 
2011, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at 
http://royberko.info.  His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com 
and www.NeOHIOpal