Review - The Young Man from Atlanta

It is well-documented on this blog that I adore the plays of Horton Foote.  His stories of family and regret and home just ring painfully and beautifully true to me.  I always feel as if I've been dropped into the middle of a real-life situation and I'm eavesdropping on lives just...happening.  There are people who find his plays dull or one-note, but I find them really delicately thrilling and moving, in their quiet way.  I'll put links to other reviews of his work at the bottom of this post; I've also discovered a review from before my blog that I haven't shared with you yet - look for that one as a holiday auto-post!

Anyway, when Signature Theatre (one of my very favorite places to be) announced that they would be doing a revival of Foote's The Young Man from Atlanta, I knew I had to go.  My mom and I saw the Broadway production in 1997, and I have to admit I don't remember much about the experience except that we loved it and Shirley Knight was amazing (though you can always say that about Shirley Knight, I think).  

Winner of the 1995 Pulitzer Prize, The Young Man from Atlanta is a real indictment of the American dream, and how generations of people live in fear and hubris, all at the same time.  Set in the 1950s, we first meet Will Kidder in his office, all bluster and bravado, going on about his new house and new car until he begins to relay the story of his only son's death by drowning.  You begin to see the cracks in his facade, even as he states with certainty that he always swore he would never be as poor as his father.  You can see there is pain and avoidance, even then.  That pain and avoidance gets larger and larger throughout the play, mainly due to the death of his son and the persistence of the unseen young man from Atlanta.

photo credit: Monique Carboni

We see that new home after the first scene - it's spare and sterile, with boxes everywhere.  Those boxes get moved around, but nothing is ever unpacked.  Everyone seems unsettled there; you can tell no one feels at home.  The feelings that led Will to build the home haven't yet moved on, nor have Will and his wife Lily Dale, after the death of their son.  They both still live in denial and pain, trapped in the bubble they've built for themselves, with chatterings around minor details of life.  If they just keep chattering, things won't change.  But when Will loses his job of nearly-40 years, he and Lily Dale are forced to confront their fears about their lives, their futures, and the death of their son.

There is a lot of comedy in the play, and a lot of rueful sadness, and that's Horton Foote.  There's a lot of unspoken truths, so you're never quite sure who to believe at any time.  Seemingly-minor off-the-cuff remarks take on more significance as the play proceeds.  The play moves at a steady, Southern sort of pace, but my pulse still quickened when the big emotions that have been repressed throughout started to break through.

photo credit: Caitlin Ochs

I thought Aidan Quinn was wonderful as Will Kidder - his plainspoken handsomeness was really perfect for a Horton Foote play, and he modulated his bluster and his pain beautifully.  It was really lovely to finally see him onstage.  I have to admit I was less-taken with Kristine Nielsen as his wife Lily Dale, I found her a little much, although that may be because I still had the specter of Shirley Knight flashing through my brain.  I found it interesting that most of the reviews talked about Nielsen's 'restraint,' when I thought she was pretty extreme in her stereotypical dithering.  But maybe it was just me.  I enjoyed Dan Bittner as Tom Jackson, Will's young co-worker, and Harriett D. Foy as Clara, the Kidder's housekeeper.  And Pat Bowie as their former housekeeper was a powerhouse in her two brief scenes, when she brought some stringent truths to the family.  Oh, and I was thrilled that the genius that is Hallie Foote was still included in this production.

I could share quibbles that I had with the direction, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I will only say that I think this is a worthy revival of a worthy play and I am never unhappy in the company of Horton Foote's beautiful characters and beautiful words.  I am ever so grateful to my handsome friend for inviting me to join him at The Young Man from Atlanta.  I hope Signature never stops reviving Foote's work - even in my quest to see more and more new stories and new talent, there's always room for the universal joy and pain in the Texas drawn by the singular genius of Horton Foote.

Old reviews:

The Roads to Home
The Orphans' Home Cycle
The Trip to Bountiful
Harrison, TX: Three Plays by Horton Foote