Feb. 04--Of all the American playwrights, the late Horton Foote was the closest this country ever had to Anton Chekhov. Although Foote's reputation during his lifetime was never equal to that of Arthur Miller, William Inge and Tennessee Williams, his peers, history surely will prove that Foote deserves his spot alongside that great triumvirate -- let's call it a quartet. We'll leave Eugene O'Neill in a class of his own.
Foote, who died in 2009, was Chekhovian in compassion, subtlety, satirical chops and profound powers of observation. All of that is on display in the superb "Dividing the Estate," which I first saw in Cleveland in 1990 and have loved ever since. It's hardly the only play in the world to use as its flashpoint a group of warring siblings, in this case wondering what to do about their cash-poor but land-rich inheritance in the Old South, but it is both a warm-centered comedy -- hugely enjoyable, when done well -- and a sharply observed portrait of the landed southern gentry fallen on hard times. It's not unlike a Chekhovian tragi-comedy, although it's also juicily American and thus a lot more fun to watch.
At Raven Theatre, working with a multi-room set by Jeffrey D. Kmiec, the director Cody Estle has caught much of the inherent comedy in the piece, but rather less of its poignancy. It's like everyone took as their model Tracy Letts' "August: Osage County" instead of "The Cherry Orchard." You can understand why, but it's the latter that actually comes closer to Footeian nuance.
The production, which features quite a decent ensemble cast -- including Marssie Mencotti, JoAnn Montemurro, Millicent Hurley Spencer, Ron Wells, Jon Steinhagen, Tim Martin, Eliza Stoughton, Kathryn Acosta, Angela Sandall, J.J. McCormick, Shariba Rivers, BrittneyLove Smith and Hillary Horvath -- is by no means a total miscue.
There are some moving moments, several courtesy of the nicely rich Wells, who plays the most desperate and pathetic of the siblings, and these actors, many of them regulars at this long-established theater, gel quite nicely. It's not hard to believe that Montemurro, who does not hesitate to deliver red familial meat, is playing the daughter of Mencotti's irascible and nicely avuncular matriarch. Hurley Spencer has the right kind of sadness. Steinhagen, playing a beleaguered soul, has some potent moments. And Martin, who plays Son (that's his name and his place in the family), has a laid-back quirkiness that often works. I also was taken with Rivers' take on Mildred, the family cook who finds herself uncomfortably dependent on a group that can't quite be trusted.
But there are other times when it's all played too broadly for the delicacy of this piece.
This lack of balance is typified by the moment in the play when the family finds out that its beloved and aged servant, Doug, has died virtually in their arms. Doug, who recalls the character Firs in "The Cherry Orchard," is played by McCormick, who is a solid actor but not quite old enough to pull off the man's advanced age. But what bothered me most about the moment was the way the dying man's arm was allowed to fall -- splat -- on the floor. It was funny, I suppose, but it also was something the family members would never have allowed. They all loved this man. In their way.
That's the thing about Foote: He knew that people can and do behave badly, but there is also a reservoir of kindness running through his characters and an authorial sense that they are the overly conformist victims of circumstances outside of their control. That's why we care so much about them -- and why laughing too much at their foibles should only be part of our time in Foote's Old South.
cjones5@tribpub.com
Twitter @ChrisJonesTrib
2.5 stars
When: Through March 28
Where: Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St.
Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes
Tickets: $36 at 773-338-2177 or raventheatre.com
