Might Broadway Adopt The Orphans' Home Cycle?

By Adam Hetrick
15 Dec 2009

Orphans' Home Cycle stars Hallie Foote and Maggie Lacey
Orphans' Home Cycle stars Hallie Foote and Maggie Lacey
Photo by Gregory Costanzo

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote's final work, The Orphans' Home Cycle, which is currently premiering Off-Broadway, has snagged a few Broadway admirers.

The New York Times reports that producers Jeffrey Richards (Superior Donuts, Race, Hair) and Daryl Roth (Fela!, Night Music, Accent on Youth) are discussing a possible Broadway transfer of the ambitious nine-play cycle, now running at the Signature Theatre.

The aim would be to transfer the production in time for Tony eligibility. Richards told the Times, "I think it's a great piece of theatre. Other people are looking at it too."

A spokesman for the Off-Broadway production had no official comment.

Foote's last Broadway outing was Diving the Estate, which was presented on Broadway by Lincoln Center Theater in fall 2008 following an acclaimed Off-Broadway run at Primary Stages.

The first part of The Orphans' Home Cycle premiered Off-Broadway Nov. 5 after a world-premiere engagement at Hartford Stage earlier this fall. Michael Wilson directs the theatrical event inspired by Foote's family that is separated into three evenings. The second installment began performances Dec. 3 and the final chapter will begin Jan. 7, 2010. Performances are scheduled through March 28, 2010.

Part I (The Story of a Childhood) consists of the plays Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts and Lily Dale; Part II (The Story of a Marriage) includes The Widow Claire, Courtship and Valentine's Day; and Part III (The Story of a Family) concludes with 1918, Cousins and The Death of Papa.

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