Last night was date night here. Paula and I try to occasionally get away from the stress of caring for her mother. Last night we attended the play “The Trip to Bountiful” at the Ahmanson Theater in downtown LA.
The Trip to Bountiful was written by Horton Foote. Last night’s performance starred Cicely Tyson as Mrs. Carrie Watts, Blair Underwood as Ludie Watts, and Vanessa Williams as Jessie Mae Watts.
There is also a movie version of Bountiful that starred Geraldine Page as Carrie Watts made in 1985. In that version, Geraldine Page won an Oscar for Best Actress.
Bountiful is the story of Carrie who is an older women living with her hen-pecked son and controlling daughter-in-law in an apartment in Houston in the 1940’s. Every month coinciding with the arrival of her pension check, Carrie attempts to return to the home of her childhood in the fictional town of Bountiful, TX. Just about every month Jessie Mae manages to stop her from escaping.
Of course, there is the obvious parallel in my living situation. Paula and I are living with her 90 something mother. Mary K has her childhood home in a place named Piedmont, KS. It is a town that has, like Bountiful, seen much better days. Mary has managed to make it back to Piedmont many times over the years. The most recent trip was this past May for her high school reunion. Paula took Mary this time and I begged off.
Sometimes it seems that we are better off leaving the places of our past just in our memories. Going back doesn’t always work like we would like it to.
So on to the review of the play last night. Ms Tyson nailed the performance of Carrie. She managed to get all of the mannerisms of an 80 something old woman and the clothing screamed “old lady dress”. I could close my eyes and see Mary K in my mind’s eye.
Blair Underwood did an excellent job of playing the hen pecked husband and son. He got two ways from mother and wife. Last time I remember seeing Mr Underwood was in the TV production “LA Law” in the 90’s. Good job.
I had a little trouble getting all of the dialogue. This is more a problem with my hearing than the production. No matter how much I tried to adjust my hearing aids, I just couldn’t quite find the sweet spot where every word came in loud and clear.
The Ahmanson theater is a medium to largish theater in Downton LA. It is in the theater complex with the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. It has excellent sight lines. We had seats in mezzanine (1st balcony) third row center. Mezzanine seats are easy to get to. We left San Pedro at about 6:15 and we were in our seats by 7:45. It takes a while to deal with traffic, parking, etc.
During the intermission, the bar was charging outrageous rates. Two drinks cost us $26. Ouch. Could have used a tad more legroom. It is always a challenge to get downtown in the evening.
Bountiful is playing at the Ahmanson until Nov 2. So you still have a chance to see it. Certainly worth it. Or failing that go rent the DVD from Netflix.
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