Horton Foote’s ‘Orphans’ Home Cycle’ spins further tales about a nice guy’s journey

Second installment of a three-part play series chronicles better times for its hero

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

OFF BROADWAY REVIEW

When last we saw Horace Robedaux in 1910, he was a lonely young man weeping aboard a train following a miserable visit with his hostile stepfather, oppressed mother and self-involved sister in Houston.

Bowing off Broadway last month, the first trio of plays in Horton Foote's three-part "The Orphans' Home Cycle" presented a sorrowful account of Horace's desolate boyhood in the wake of his father's untimely death. A nice middle-class kid unwanted by the Robedaux and Thornton clans, Horace grows up in bleak, practically Dickensian circumstances in 1900s Texas, struggling to make his way with little education and few friends.

Fortunately for Horace — and viewers — his life gets better in the second part of the cycle, subtitled "The Story of a Marriage," which opened Thursday at the Peter Norton Space.

Set in the midsize (and fictional) Texas town of Harrison during the years 1912-17, this program of hour-long plays reveals Horace slowly getting ahead as a young adult.

"The Widow Claire" observes Horace as the nicest fellow among several admirers of a winsome single mom. A traveling salesman in "Courtship," Horace quietly woos Elizabeth under the disapproving noses of her well-to-do Vaughn family. "Valentine's Day" finds a hard-pressed but happily-wed Horace and Elizabeth celebrating Christmas in a disorderly boarding house where they await the birth of their child.

Not so incidental are the intersecting stories of other people: An uncle who gambles away his business; a young neighbor dying in childbirth; an old family friend who loses his mind. Tragedy brushes Horace on all sides but somehow he begins to know happiness. This poignant realization, coming late in the third play, is the touching climax for "The Story of a Marriage."

Having written the nine full-length dramas in this cycle at various times during his career, Foote had virtually completed adapting them into hour-long versions for this new three-part epic when he died last March at the age of 92. A lurking suspicion that Foote may have edited his work somewhat too sharply is confirmed by viewing this second group of plays. People abruptly go off to events and improbably return even faster. Gossipy tales are whittled to their essentials.

Obviously some of the anecdotal charm of the original plays has been sacrificed for narrative speed, which is understandable but still a pity since the magic of Foote's writing lies in the abundance of homely details he provides. Fortunately, being able to appreciate the rising arc of Horace's life so clearly here offers its own rewards.

Similarly rewarding is director Michael Wilson's sensitive staging, which is distinguished by sincere acting in roles large and small by his 21-member ensemble. Bill Heck depicts Horace with an unassuming but growing personal strength and a melodious voice. Maggie Lacey invests the seemingly delicate Elizabeth with a gentle determination to get her way. An astringent Hallie Foote and a grumbling James DeMarse are perfectly matched as Elizabeth's well-meaning parents. Devon Abner presents two neat variations on hopelessly lonely guy characters.

Unadorned settings, authentic-looking period clothes and supple lighting provide the visual necessities for this co-production by Hartford Stage and Signature Theatre Company. With the first two parts of the cycle now up and running, the third and final installment begins performances Jan. 7.

Serious challenges await Horace and his loved ones in the years ahead. The first play in the concluding program is the grim "1918," regarding a terrible period when the Spanish flu epidemic ravages Harrison. Anyone who already has invested their time and emotions in Horace's world will be eager to see how he weathers the coming storm.

"The Orphans' Home Cycle, Part 2: The Story of a Marriage" continues in rep through March 28 at The Peter Norton Space, 555 W. 42nd St., New York. Call (212) 244-7529 or visit www.signaturetheatre.org.