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Dividing the Estate Reviews
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Denial Ain't Just a River in Egypt Review by: DoctorJoeE, Dec 1, 2008 |
| A very interesting play, reminiscent of Eugene O'Neill but without having to sit through 4 hours of pontification and poetry quotations. This is a story of denial -- a classic antebellum southern family which refuses to acknowledge that it's 1987, and that slavery -- and the family fortune -- are long gone. Forced at last to confront this reality with the death of the family matriarch and the necessity of "Dividing the Estate", ... read more each and every family member responds with...more denial! Each is fixated on his or her own selfish concerns, and the unthinkable prospect of having to find a job, since every one of them, by their own admissions, have "never worked a day in our lives." The reality is unacceptable, so they cling to the hope of a "bail-out" -- an oil company lease which might lead to an oil strike, which would enable them to continue their denial for another generation. Sounds a lot like the denial rampant in a lot of banks and automobile companies we've been hearing about lately, doesn't it? |
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My recommendation:
Go see if you get a chance
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IT'S NOT EASY TO GET GREEN Review by: Beth M, Nov 30, 2008 |
by Beth Mandelbaum
Broadway is currently being graced during this holiday season by 92 year old playwright Horton Foote’s Dividing the Estate, which was first presented in the late 1980’s, I believe in a regional production, and then had a highly successful run off Broadway last season. When this play opened last year, I happened to read a very excellent review in The New York Times, and knew that this was a play that I wanted to see, but ... read more never made it. So I was really pleased to learn that Lincoln Center had decided to produce it on Broadway. I had a delightful afternoon, though I did have some reservations.
Dividing the Estate, as has quite perceptible been observed, is the more genteel sister/brother of the far more acerbic, vitriolic and hard biting dark family comedy/tragedy just across the street, the absolutely terrific and not to be missed August: Osage County. Both reveal layers and layers of “dysfunction,” to coin the term that has long been applied to many plays about relationships that one can only say are less that healthy (to put it mildly!). Both are also wonderful “ensemble pieces,” another word that has been used in recent years to describe shows in which the entire cast works very closely together in the creation of the whole rather than focusing on individual “stars.” Everyone in this cast of 13 actors is splendid in their own characterizations and comic timing, and all have much to say. However, if there is the notion of a “star” in this play, the kudos would go to the extraordinary Elizabeth Ashley, one of theater’s “grande dames,” who plays the family “matriarch,” Stella, who is in her eighties.
The play is set in what is known as Horton Foote territory, a small town in Texas, in which the outer world has drastically changed. Many of the grand estates have been torn down and have been replaced by highways and capitalistic ventures, including international enterprise. For example, the road nearby includes a plastic factory run by people from either Thailand or Vietnam. And there is a fast food restaurant, part of a hamburger chain called Whataburger. The play is set during a period of economic depression, including loss of jobs and house foreclosures, a time that is frighteningly analogous to our own.
This is the kind of play that revealing many of the plot details could very easily spoil the show for readers. But essentially, it is about a family reunion after a number of months have passed. And they all have an agenda which is the color of green.
There are Stella’s three children: Lewis, who has a problem with alcohol and consorting with an underage teen; Lucille, a rather prim and basically good daughter who lives in the estate and takes care of her mother; and then there is Mary Jo. One of the special gifts that Mr. Foote has given audiences in addition to this often wildly funny, extremely clever, sharp, and very human play, is his daughter, Hallie Foote, who is absolutely brilliant in her no holds barred performance as Mary Jo, the most self centered, and out and out greedy, but hilarious, of three siblings (and their families) who have come together.
The play’s title blatantly reveals what the play is about. The three siblings and their families, but most especially the family of Mary Jo, which has just been badly scarred by the impact of the economic distress that has been hitting many parts of Texas, are there to discuss the serious issue of whether split up the estate among them while their mother is still alive, so that they can have quick and easy access to much needed cash. But Stella has made it clear that she never wants her once grand home and its many acres of land sold even after her death, and certainly not before.
I must say that I found much of the first act a bit too slow for my taste, but it does have some wonderful comedic moments, and serves exceedingly well to introduce us to the family (which one should be very grateful is not their own). There is a lot of conversation: one hears a great deal of gossip about family and friends, the changing times, and memories half remembered. It felt to me very much like the experience that we all probably have had when visiting someone else’s family when they don’t let you in. But Act one also give us more than a taste of the “dysfunction,” which will escalate into pure and to me farcical hilarity in the second act, which I found to be absolutely hysterically funny. And without telling you about the ironic and completely unexpected (and generally unhappy) surprises that occur in act 2, suffice it to say that the plot’s twist and turns offer nearly everyone their karmic due. I left with a broad smile on my face.
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Go see if you get a chance
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An fun evening with the Gordon's, less dysfunctional than the Weston's Review by: TopHat143, Nov 29, 2008 |
| A funny and sometimes somber look about the Gordon family on the verge of economic woes in 1987. Siblings disagreeing what to do with their parents estate in Texas. The play shows us how money changes the relationship in everyone especially with your own family. Though the play takes place in 1987, the situation we are facing now with the uncertainty of our economic climate can not be more current and realistic. everyone in the play wants to ... read more live a better life especially there's money coming in, but of course it's not easy to achieve that. Overall, the play was wonderful and I enjoyed it immensely. The cast led by Elizabeth Ashley was wonderful. They made me laugh, tear a little and they reminded me of my own family and what we are going through about dividing my grandparents' estates. People that you have not seen in many years suddenly pop in! such is life...but Dividing the Estates is that kind of play. If you would like to see a lighter version of August, Osage County, then here's another dysfunctional family that you can identify with more. I did! |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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Review by: rmark25, Nov 13, 2008 |
great show
funny look at a dysfunctional family without it being disturbing. Topical storyline set in an interesting time and place. Great characters you probably wouldn't want to know.
A "lighter" version of a family drama like August: Osage County. |
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My recommendation:
Make an effort to see
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I saw this show with:
Alone
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Romantic Date, The Entire Family, Business Assoc.
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| * Review is an opinion of a BroadwayBox user and not that of BroadwayBox.com and BroadwayBox, Inc. |
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