The Love of Beer
Hallie Foote (left) and Elizabeth Ashley
- Photo by Henry DiRocco
With all its family feudin’ and unapologetic displays of spite, greed and self-interest, Horton Foote’s final play, Dividing the Estate, might as well be a reality-TV show. It’d no doubt be a raging hit on Fox or the CW. Personifying the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt, the Gordon clan of fictitious Harrison, Texas (circa 1987), is populated by feisty, pronouncement-wielding Grandma Stella (Elizabeth Ashley), the family matriarch and keeper of the presumed valuable estate; sour-mouthed daughter Mary Jo (Hallie Foote, the late playwright’s daughter); harried daughter Lucille (Penny Fuller); and boozin’, gamblin’ son Lewis (Horton Foote, Jr.). They’re split on the notion of dividing the estate Stella clings to in her diminishing days. Of course, there’s a lot of peripheral and unsolicited advice from in-laws like Mary Jo’s good-old-boy husband Bob (James DeMarse) and the well-meaning schoolteacher Pauline (Kelly McAndrew), who’s engaged to the widowed Lucille’s son, who’s called, uh, Son (Devon Abner).
The Old Globe’s West Coast premiere of the 1989 Foote play, staged on a sumptuous ground-floor-mansion set, becomes rather claustrophobic, mostly when there’s too much dead space between laughs. Possibly that was Foote’s, and even director Michael Wilson’s, intention: to make the audience as uneasy in this household as are so many of its inhabitants, Mary Jo in particular. Except for Stella, deliciously played by the veteran Ashley, and for 92-year-old majordomo Doug (Roger Robinson, at once funny and poignant), the denizens of this home register low on likeability. Some of the familial sparring is entertaining, but a dinner scene near the end of Act 1 feels overlong and static. No matter the subject or tenor of the at-table conversation, it’s just not that exciting to watch characters, some of them with their backs to us, eating supper.
Ashley’s Stella so commands attention—her fellow characters’ and ours—that she’s missed every moment she’s not on stage. This woman could look J.R. Ewing in the eye and not blink. She needs a worthy adversary in Dividing the Estate, and none of her brood is substantially up to the task.
Dividing the Estate runs through Feb. 12 at the Old Globe Theatre. $29 and up. Write to davidc@sdcitybeat.com and editor@sdcitybeat.com
American Night: The Ballad of Juan Jose: Culture Clash returns to La Jolla Playhouse with a new trans-border comedy written by the troupe’s Richard Montoya. Previews begin Jan. 27; opens Feb. 4 at La Jolla Playhouse. $35 and up. lajolla%u2028playhouse.org
A Behanding in Spokane: Cygnet Theatre presents Irish playwright Martin McDonagh’s offbeat comedy about a man searching for his missing hand. Opens Jan. 28 at the Old Town Stage. $29-$54. cygnettheatre.com
An Enemy of the People: Intrepid Shakespeare Company presents Arthur Miller’s adaptation of Ibsen’s play about one man fighting to spread the truth. Previews begin Jan. 28; opens Feb. 3 at the Performing Arts Center on the campus of San Dieguito Academy. $15-$25. intrepidshakespeare.com
A Raisin in the Sun: The New York Times called Lorraine Hansberry’s drama about a struggling family in Chicago “a play that changed American theater forever.” Previews begin Jan. 27; opens Feb. 4 at Moxie Theatre in Rolando. $20-$47. moxietheatre.com
Beth Malone—So Far: A one-woman show starring actor / writer Malone, last seen at Diversionary Theatre in The Break-Up Notebook. Opens. Jan. 27 at Diversionary Theatre in University Heights. $20-$29. diversionary.org
42nd Street: A chorus girl gets her shot at stardom in this rousing Broadway musical by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble. Opens Jan. 27 at Coronado Playhouse. $18-$25. coronadoplayhouse.com
The Recommendation: The lives of two college roommates change drastically once they enter the real world in this world-premiere play by Jonathan Caren. Opens Jan. 26 at Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. $29 and up. oldglobe.org
Now Playing
Request Programme: Ion Theatre presents Linda Libby as a woman passing an evening at home in this wordless play by Franz Xaver Kroetz. Through Jan. 28 at BLKBOX @ 6th & Penn in Hillcrest. $20-$24. iontheatre.com
A Hammer, a Bell and a Song to Sing: This workshop musical is composed of spoken-word pieces and songs of activism down through the decades in America. Audiences are invited to sing along. Through Jan. 29 at San Diego Repertory Theatre, Downtown. $32-$51. sdrep.org
The Elephant Man: The life of John Merrick is retold in the venerable play by Bernard Pomerance. Through Feb. 4 at OnStage Playhouse in Chula Vista. $14-$16. onstageplayhouse.org
The Lion in Winter: James Goldman’s story of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, set in 12th-century England, is tangled with familial machinations but benefits from a stentorian-voiced Mark Pinter as Henry and an insider sensibility among the cast that the story’s lessons still apply today. Through Feb. 5 at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. $32-$49. northcoastrep.org
The Mousetrap: Agatha Christie’s venerable murder play, the longest-running production in the world, is presented by Moonlight Stage Productions. Through Feb. 5 at AVO Playhouse in Vista. $22-$30. moonlightstage.com
Panache: Don Gordon’s screwball comedy in which an unlikely couple meet under unusual circumstances. Through Feb. 5 at PowPAC, Poway’s Community Theatre. $18. powpac.org
Pinkalicious The Musical: A fanciful work produced by North Coast Rep’s Professional Theatre for Young Audiences. Through Feb. 5 at North Coast Repertory Theatre in Solana Beach. $12-$16. northcoastrep.org
Dividing the Estate: Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Horton Foote’s family comedy set in a fictitious Texas town. Through Feb. 12 at Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park. $29 and up. oldglobe.org
How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying: A rousing score by Frank Loesser highlights this musical satire of corporate America. Through Feb. 26 at Welk Resorts Theatre in Escondido. $36-$63. welktheatresandiego.com
miXtape: Generation X was torn between disillusionment and hope in this cavalcade of music from the 1980s. Produced by Lamb’s Players Theatre, it runs through Feb. 26 at the Horton Grand Theatre, Downtown. $28-$58. lambsplayers.org
Brooklyn Boy: Scripps Ranch Theatre stages Donald Margulies’ comedy about searching for one’s roots and one’s self. Through Feb. 28 at Legler Benbough Theatre at Alliant international University in Scripps Ranch. $22-$25. scrippsranchtheatre.org
Shotgun Wedding Anniversary: How else can a miserable 25-year marriage end but in murder? Presented by Mystery Cafe, it’s ongoing at Imperial House restaurant in Bankers Hill. $59.50, including dinner. mysterycafe.net
