Foote's Dividing the Estate Will Arrive on Broadway in October

By Andrew Gans
and Ernio Hernandez
17 Mar 2008

Gerald McRaney in the Off-Broadway run of Dividing the Estate.
Gerald McRaney in the Off-Broadway run of Dividing the Estate.
photo by James Leynse

The recent acclaimed Primary Stages production of Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate will arrive on Broadway in the fall at a Shubert theatre to be announced.

Lincoln Center Theater, by arrangement with Primary Stages, will present the Broadway run, which is scheduled to begin previews Oct. 23 with an official opening Nov. 20. Michael Wilson — who helmed the Sept. 18-Oct. 28, 2007, production of Dividing the Estate at 59E59 Theaters — will again direct the limited engagement.

The entire Off-Broadway cast — including Elizabeth Ashley, Arthur French, Hallie Foote, Penny Fuller and Gerald McRaney as well as Devon Abner, James DeMarse, Pat Bowie, Virginia Kull, Maggie Lacey, Nicole Lowrance, Jenny Dare Paulin and Keiana Richard — will reprise their roles for Broadway audiences.

Dividing the Estate, according to press notes, is described as "a human comedy about a family that must confront its past as it prepares for its future." The work debuted at Princeton, New Jersey's McCarter Theatre in 1989.

The production will feature sets by Jeff Cowie, costumes by David C. Woolard, lighting by Rui Rita and original music and sound by John Gromada.
Horton Foote earned the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play The Young Man from Atlanta. His other works include The Trip to Bountiful, The Traveling Lady, The Chase, The Last of the Thortons and Talking Pictures, among others. Actress Hallie Foote, who appeared in Estate, is the playwright's daughter.

Director Wilson previously staged Foote's The Day Emily Married for Primary Stages in 2004. On Broadway, he recently staged the revival of Old Acquaintance. Other credits include Broadway's Enchanted April and Off-Broadway's What Didn't Happen and Foote's The Carpetbagger's Children. Wilson serves as artistic director for Hartford Stage in Connecticut.

Penny Fuller, Hallie Foote and Elizabeth Ashley in Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote.
Penny Fuller, Hallie Foote and Elizabeth Ashley in Dividing the Estate by Horton Foote.
photo by James Leynse