Meghan Andrews (Thelma) and Lois Smith (Carrie Watts), ride a bus in
the middle of  the night through Texas, in The Trip to Bountiful.
Photo by Michael Brosilow

Lois Smith, as Carrie Watts, listening to the call of

wild birds in Bountiful.

 Photo by Michael Brosilow

(Chicago, IL - February 7, 2008) Goodman Theatre welcomes director Harris Yulin and actor Lois Smith as they team up for The Trip to Bountiful, Horton Foote's beloved 1953 play featuring Hallie Foote and Devon Abner—Foote's eldest daughter and son-in-law, respectively-and Meghan Andrews. The Trip to Bountiful caps the Goodman's landmark 10-week festival honoring Horton Foote, "[one of the] strongest, most individual and most abidingly relevant voices in theater" (The New York Times). The Trip to Bountiful runs March 1 - April 6; opening night is March 10 at 7pm. A calendar with complete dates, times and ticket prices for The Trip to Bountiful appears at the end of this release. Allstate is the exclusive corporate sponsor of The Trip to Bountiful.

"The Trip to Bountiful is one of Horton's finest works-a story of seemingly ordinary people that is told with heartbreaking and life-affirming delicacy," said Artistic Director Robert Falls. "Revived with exquisite care and insight by Harris Yulin at New York's Signature Theatre last year, the production featured a masterful performance by Lois Smith. I am thrilled to recreate and include this triumphant production for our celebration of this living legend at the Goodman."

The Trip to Bountiful was first written and performed as a live teleplay for The Philco Television Playhouse in 1953, starring Lillian Gish—who would perform the role on Broadway later that year. In 1985, Foote adapted The Trip to Bountiful into an Academy Award-winning film starring Geraldine Page. Set in the late 1940s, The Trip to Bountiful focuses on Mrs. Carrie Watts (Smith), a widow who is suffocatingly unhappy living in a Houston apartment with her grown son Ludie (Abner) and his overbearing wife Jessie Mae (Hallie Foote). Carrie dreams of returning to the tiny town of Bountiful, Texas-where she grew up, and which she left three decades earlier. Undaunted by her family and unafraid of a final grand adventure, Carrie sets out on a journey into her past, seeking solace in the place she once called home.

The Goodman's Horton Foote Festival continues a burgeoning tradition at Goodman Theatre of exploring the work of the most important, influential and moving writers for the stage. The Goodman's festivals have honored playwrights August Wilson (2007), David Mamet (2006), Edward Albee (2005)-and in 2009, Eugene O'Neill.

About Horton Foote

Academy Award-winner and playwright Horton Foote's realistic portrayal of locales and characters of southeastern Texas has been his signature for more than five decades of writing for the stage, television and film. He was born in 1916 in Wharton, Texas-the town he would subsequently use as the setting for many of his plays, under the pseudonym "Harrison." His first play, Wharton Dance, was produced in New York in 1941 and was followed by Texas Town (1942), Only the Heart (1944), Celebration (1948), The Chase (1952) and The Traveling Lady (1954). He wrote The Trip to Bountiful for NBC television in 1953 and adapted it for Broadway later that year. He achieved prominence writing for television and film during the 1950s and 1960s for such works as The Dancers (1954), A Young Lady of Property (1956), Flight (1957), Storm Fear (1955) and Baby, The Rain Must Fall (1964).

Foote has won two Academy Awards, the first for his screen adaptation of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and the second for his original screenplay, Tender Mercies (1983). Other film work includes Tomorrow (1972), the movie version of The Trip to Bountiful, nominated for an Academy Award (1985), Convicts (1989) and Lily Dale (1996).

In recent years, Foote has returned to concentrating on theater; among the many plays which have earned him acclaim have been The Roads to Home (1982), 1918 (1987), Lily Dale (1988), The Widow Claire (1988), Dividing the Estate (1989), The Last of the Thorntons (2001), The Carpetbagger's Children and Getting Frankie Married…and Afterward (both 2002). The Young Man From Atlanta won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize, following its premiere at Signature Theatre Company off-Broadway, as part of a season devoted entirely to Foote works. In December 2000, President Clinton awarded Foote the National Medal of Arts.

About the Cast and Company

Director Harris Yulin returns to the Goodman where he most recently appeared onstage as legendary Chicago architect Louis Sullivan in Frank's Home by Richard Nelson, directed by Robert Falls. He previously appeared at the Goodman in Falls' world premiere staging of Arthur Miller's Finishing the Picture and has appeared on Broadway in Hedda Gabler, The Price, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Visit, A Lesson From Aloes, and Watch On The Rhine. His off-Broadway credits include Raindance at Signature Theatre; Don Juan In Hell at Symphony Space; Steve Tesich's Arts and Leisure at Playwrights Horizons; Tina Howe's Approaching Zanzibar at Second Stage; Hamlet, King John, Richard III, and A Midsummer Night's Dream at New York Shakespeare Festival; and Mrs. Warren's Profession and Hedda Gabler at Roundabout Theatre Company. Regional credits include the title role of King Lear at New Jersey Shakespeare Festival; The Talking Cure at Mark Taper Forum; Tartuffe at the Guthrie and Arena Stage; Henry V at Hartford Stage; and The Tempest at Shakespeare & Co. Yulin's television and film credits include Mister Sterling, 24, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Frasier, La Femme Nikita, The Emperor's Club, Training Day, The Million Dollar Hotel, The Hurricane, Looking for Richard, Murder at 1600, Multiplicity, Clear and Present Danger and Scarface.

Lois Smith (Carrie Watts) played Carrie Watts in Horton Foote's The Trip to Bountiful at Signature Theatre Company, for which she received an Obie Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, a Drama Desk Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award and the Kingsley-Evans Award. She has appeared at Steppenwolf (where she is an ensemble member) in The Grapes of Wrath, Buried Child, Mother Courage and The Royal Family. She has appeared on Broadway in Time Out for Ginger, The Young and the Beautiful, Blues for Mr. Charlie and the original production of Orpheus Descending. She has appeared in many other plays on Broadway, off-Broadway and in regional theaters including Uncle Vanya at Mark Taper Forum; The Sea Gull at Guthrie Theater; and The Cherry Orchard and Escape from Happiness at Centerstage. She also appeared in The Front Page at Long Wharf Theatre; The Stick Wife at Hartford Stage; and Defying Gravity off-Broadway. She is a longtime member of The Actors Studio and The Ensemble Studio Theatre, where she has appeared in many one-act play marathons including plays by Romulus Linney and Horton Foote's The Man Who Climbed the Pecan Trees. Film credits include East of Eden with James Dean, Five Easy Pieces, Next Stop Greenwich Village, Four Friends, Black Widow, Falling Down, Fried Green Tomatoes, Twister, Larger than Life, How to Make an American Quilt, Dead Man Walking, Minority Report, Hollywoodland, Sweet Land and Diminished Capacity. Smith's early television play credits include Miss Julie and The Master Builder on Public Television's "Play of the Week." Since then she has appeared in many television films and miniseries and guest-starred in series including Frasier, Just Shoot Me, Law and Order, Cold Case, ER, Grey's Anatomy, Truman, The Laramie Project and Iron Jawed Angels.

Devon Abner (Ludie) makes his Goodman debut. He reprises his role of Carrie's son Ludie, in which he appeared in the Signature Theatre production of The Trip to Bountiful. He was most recently in Dividing the Estate at Primary Stages in New York. He has performed in a number of other Horton Foote plays and is a member of the Actor's Studio. Meghan Andrews (Thelma) makes her Chicago debut. Broadway credits include Frost/Nixon and The Grapes of Wrath. She received a 2006 Lucille Lortel Nomination for her work in The Trip to Bountiful. Other credits include numerous productions at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Clocks and Whistles (Origin Theatre Company), All's Well That Ends Well (Blessed Unrest), Doubt (GeorgeStreet Playhouse), Dracula (Fulton Theatre) and Honky Tonk Angels (Alabama Shakespeare Festival).

Hallie Foote (Jessie Mae) makes her Goodman debut. Off-Broadway credits include Dividing the Estate, The Day Emily Married,  When They Speak of Rita (Primary Stages);  The Carpetbagger's Children (Lincoln Center); The Trip to Bountiful, The Last of the Thorntons, Talking Pictures, Night Seasons, Laura Dennis (Signature Theatre); The Roads to Home (Circle in the Square); The Widow Claire (Lamb's Theatre). Regional credits include The Carpetbagger's Children (Alley Theatre, Hartford Stage and Guthrie Theater), The Death of Papa (Playmakers Rep), God's Pictures (Indiana Rep). The ensemble includes Brad Armacost, Erica Elam, Stephen Georgiou, Frank Girardeau, Danny Goldring, Dean Hill, Ellen Karas, James Krag, Emily Mark, Taube Schwartz, Kyle Warren.

The design team for The Trip to Bountiful includes David Cosier (Set Design), Martin Pakledinaz (Costume Design), John McKernon (Lighting Design) and Brett Jarvis (Sound Design/Composer).

Tickets to The Trip to Bountiful are $23 to $75 (partial view seating starts at $11.50) and may be purchased online at GoodmanTheatre.org, at the Goodman Theatre Box Office, 170 North Dearborn Street, or charged by phoning 312.443.3800. See Foote Festival calendar for specific dates, times and prices. Mezztix are half-price mezzanine tickets available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online at GoodmanTheatre.org on the day of performance, subject to availability; Mezztix are not available by telephone. When purchasing on GoodmanTheatre.org, enter the promo code MEZZTIX. 10Tix are $10 mezzanine tickets for students available at 12 noon at the box office, and at 10am online at GoodmanTheatre.org on the day of performance, subject to availability; 10Tix are not available by telephone. Valid student I.D. must be presented when picking up the tickets at will call. Limit 4 tickets per student with I.D. Tickets are subject to availability and handling fees apply. Group tickets are available by contacting Group Sales Manager Kim Furganson at 312.443.3820 or e-mail KimFurganson@GoodmanTheatre.org.

About Goodman Theatre

Named the country's Best Regional Theatre by Time magazine (2003), Goodman Theatre is a leader in the American theater, internationally recognized for its artists, productions and educational programs since its founding in 1925. Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer's forward-thinking leadership has earned the Goodman unparalleled artistic distinction, garnered hundreds of awards-including the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre (1992)-and moved dozens of plays from Chicago to stages in New York and abroad. Central to its commitment to the reinvestigation of classics and development of new plays and artists is the Goodman's Artistic Collective, including Frank Galati, Henry Godinez, Chuck Smith, Regina Taylor and Mary Zimmerman. The largest not-for-profit theater in Chicago, the Goodman moved in 2000 into a brand new state-of-the-art complex which houses two principal theaters: the 856-seat Albert Ivar Goodman Theatre and the 400-seat flexible Owen Bruner Goodman Theatre. Board Chairman is Shawn M. Donnelley and Alice Young Sabl is chair of the Women's Board. American Airlines is the Exclusive Airline of Goodman Theatre. Kraft Foods is the Principal Sponsor of the Goodman's free Student Subscription Series.

Still to come in the 2007/2008 season include: The Ballad of Emmett Till by Ifa Bayeza, directed by Oz Scott (April 26 - June 1, 2008); Ain't Misbehavin': The Fats Waller Musical Show, based on an idea by Murray Horwitz and Richard Maltby, Jr., music by Fats Waller, directed by Chuck Smith (June 21 - July 27, 2008).

Recently announced productions in the 2008/2009 season include Turn of the Century by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, directed by Tommy Tune (in 2008; dates TBD); Ruined by Lynn Nottage, directed by Kate Whoriskey (in 2008; dates TBD); Yohen by Philip Kan Gotanda, directed by Steve Scott (a co-production with Silk Road Theatre Company, performed at Silk Road
Theatre, 77 W. Washington St., September 18 - November 2, 2008); and
Desire Under the Elms, starring Brian Dennehy, directed by Robert Falls (in 2009; dates TBD); and Ghostwritten by Naomi Iizuka, directed by Lisa Portes (in 2009; dates TBD).

(Chicago, IL - March 10, 2008) For one night only on March 17, Goodman Theatre becomes a picture show-complete with fresh popcorn-for a celebration of the classic films of Horton Foote. Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips leads an evening of seven movie clips with commentary followed by a screening of Tender Mercies, Foote's 1983 Academy Award-winner. The Films of Horton Foote takes place on Monday, March 17 beginning at 5:30pm. Admission is free, but reservations are required: 312.443.3800. The Goodman's landmark 10-week Horton Foote Festival honors "[one of the] strongest, most individual and most abidingly relevant voices in theater" (The New York Times). Currently on stage is The Trip to Bountiful featuring Lois Smith, through April 6.

About the Films

• Horton Foote received an Academy Award for his screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), an adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about childhood and racism in Alabama, starring Gregory Peck.
• Based on Foote's play, Baby, the Rain Must Fall (1965) stars Steve McQueen as an ex-con and Lee Remick as his long-suffering wife.
• Tomorrow (1972) is based on a William Faulkner short story and stars Robert Duvall as a lonely farmer who takes in a pregnant woman.
• Matthew Broderick and Hallie Foote appear in the World War I story 1918 (1985), based on Foote's play.
• Hallie Foote stars in Courtship (1987) as a young woman whose parents disapprove of her relationship with a young man.
• Convicts (1991) is an adaptation of Foote's nine-play series The Orphans' Home Cycle. Robert Duvall stars as a plantation owner who employs convicts to keep his farm from failing.
• Foote adapted John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1992) for the screen, starring Gary Sinise and John Malkovich.
• In Tender Mercies Robert Duvall plays Mac Sledge, a country singer and recovering alcoholic transformed by his relationship with a young widow and her son. Foote based his Academy Award-winning screenplay on his nephew's experiences as a drummer for singer George Strait. Duvall also won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Michael Phillips is the film critic of the Chicago Tribune. He was the Tribune's drama critic from 2002 to 2005. Before that Phillips served as drama critic of the Los Angeles Times; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the San Diego Union-Tribune; and the Dallas Times Herald. He was arts editor and film critic of the Twin Cities weekly City Pages, and reviewed film for Minnesota Public Radio. He fills in regularly for Roger Ebert on At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper. Three times he served as a drama juror for the Pulitzer Prizes and he had the honor of chairing the jury a fourth year. Phillips teaches at the University of Chicago Graham School of General Studies, the USC/NEA arts journalism workshop in Los Angeles and the O'Neill Theater Center National Critics Institute in Waterford, CT. He lives on Chicago's northwest side with his wife, Andrea Lenaburg, and their seven-year-
old son, John.

Academy Award-winner and playwright Horton Foote's realistic portrayal of locales and characters of southeastern Texas has been his signature for more than five decades of writing for the stage, television and film. He was born in 1916 in Wharton, Texas-the town he would subsequently use as the setting for many of his plays, under the pseudonym "Harrison." His first play, Wharton Dance, was produced in New York in 1941 and was followed by Texas Town (1942), Only the Heart (1944), Celebration (1948), The Chase (1952) and The Traveling Lady (1954). He wrote The Trip to Bountiful for NBC television in 1953 and adapted it for Broadway later that year. He achieved prominence writing for television and film during the 1950s and 1960s for such works as The Dancers (1954), A Young Lady of Property (1956), Flight (1957), Storm Fear (1955) and Baby, The Rain Must Fall (1964).

Foote has won two Academy Awards, the first for his screen adaptation of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and the second for his original screenplay, Tender Mercies (1983). Other film work includes Tomorrow (1972), the movie version of The Trip to Bountiful, nominated for an Academy Award (1985), Convicts (1989) and Lily Dale (1996).

In recent years, Foote has returned to concentrating on theater; among the many plays which have earned him acclaim have been The Roads to Home (1982), 1918 (1987), Lily Dale (1988), The Widow Claire (1988), Dividing the Estate (1989), The Last of the Thorntons (2001), The Carpetbagger's Children and Getting Frankie Married…and Afterward (both 2002). The Young Man From Atlanta won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize, following its premiere at Signature Theatre Company off-Broadway, as part of a season devoted entirely to Foote works. In December 2000, President Clinton awarded Foote the National Medal of Arts.