In 1991, Lamb’s Players Theatre first presented Horton Foote’s 1953 play, “The Trip to Bountiful,” co-starring Jeannette Clift George as the aging, lonely Carrie Watts, and Deborah Gilmour Smyth as a witchy, spiteful daughter-in-law, Jessie Mae. Now, 35 years later, Smyth has returned to “Bountiful” to inherit the role of Carrie ‘Mama’ Watts in a full-circle moment that highlights the legacy and tradition that Lamb’s Players has cultivated as it begins its 55th season.
“The Trip to Bountiful” is a character-focused play centered on Watts, a pious, aging mother who lives with her adult son and daughter-in-law in a cramped apartment in Houston. Watts dreams of running away to Bountiful, her childhood home in rural Texas, to escape her malicious daughter-in-law, played by Kelsey Venter, and revisit the site of her happiest memories one more time before she dies.
The set design by Mike Buckley is appropriately bare and minimalist, utilizing clever lighting and pieces of furniture to whisk Carrie Watts from her apartment to the bus station, and on the road to Bountiful with seamless, well-choreographed transitions. In addition to starring, Gilmour Smyth composed piano music for the incidental transitions that accompanied the changing scenes.
Although “Bountiful” is a 70-year-old play, Venter brought a fresh take to the story through her restrained performance as Jessie Mae. While Gilmour Smyth skillfully embodies the desperate mania of a woefully nostalgic woman seeking a life that no longer exists, Venter presents an empathetic approach to her performance of the cruel, immature behavior of Jessie Mae. Instead of portraying her as needlessly selfish, Venter’s performance depicts her as a young woman focused on the future, frustrated by her inability to engage with the present.
Rather than screaming or shouting at Carrie Watts, Venter’s Jessie Mae is passive-aggressive and irritable; she is rarely intentionally mean-spirited, or unnecessarily cruel. She dreams of going to the movies, going downtown, and engaging with society, but she is held back by her ailing mother-in-law, and her impotent husband Ludie, played by Andrew Oswald. Despite her displeasure, Jessie Mae is loyal to Ludie, who is presented as meek, and like his mother, trapped by the notion that joy only exists in the past.
The cast is rounded out by Lauren King Thompson, who plays the compassionate young traveller with whom Carrie Watts spends most of her journey, Spencer Gerber, a ticket agent and bus station attendant who offers her a place to rest when she loses her purse, and Lance Arthur Smith, the friendly sheriff who finally takes her to what remains of Bountiful.
In addition to the sets, and immersive lighting by Nathan Peirson, the play really comes to life through the wonderful costume designs of Jemima Dutra. The period-appropriate costumes are drab and dower on Carrie Watts as she wallows away in her apartment, yet exceptionally bright and flamboyant on the material-minded Jessie Mae; the suits and uniforms are clean and dapper on the gentlemen.
“The Trip to Bountiful” is a sentimental story propelled by the stout-heartedness of a woman who has had enough of regretting her life and living at the whims of others. The themes and characterization can get muddied by the intensity of the performances at times, particularly from Gilmour Smyth, whose portrayal of amiability can be construed as obtrusive and overzealous, but ultimately, the play never loses sight of its core tenant: forgiveness.
“The Trip to Bountiful” is running through March 1. Performances take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday through Saturdays, with 2 p.m. matinees available on Wednesdays and Sundays. Tickets range from $38 to $98, with discounts available for seniors, active duty military, and young adults. Buy tickets at www.lambsplayers.org
