My 2009 off-Broadway wish list

Twelve slots. If I'm lucky and the weather cooperates, that's the number of performances I'll be able to attend in New York City this fall.

To theatergoers who live a lot farther from Times Square than I do, that might seem heavenly. And it is pretty sweet. Then there are people who want to know, "Haven't you seen everything on Broadway already?" (Uh no, I haven't. But thanks for asking.)

I've written about my most-anticipated Broadway shows but I haven't mentioned off-Broadway yet. Every season there are a few off-Broadway shows I wish I'd seen and a few Broadway shows I definitely could have missed.

So, I pored over the listings in the New York Times' exhaustive fall theatre preview, and here are some of the shows on my off-Broadway wish list:

The Understudy, with Tony-winner Julie White, at the Laura Pels Theatre. I just think Julie White is hilarious. Plus, Theresa Rebeck's play is a "bitingly funny look at the underbelly of the acting world," and I like backstage stories.

Starry Messenger, by Kenneth Lonergan, at The New Group. It features Matthew Broderick and Catalina Sandino Moreno as an astronomer and a single mother. I've loved Broderick ever since the 1983 movie War Games. And Moreno gave a wrenching, Oscar-nominated performance as a young drug mule in the 2004 film Maria Full of Grace.

The Orphans' Home Cycle, by Horton Foote, at the Signature Theatre. Last fall, I saw Foote's Dividing the Estate on Broadway, with a cast that included his daughter, Hallie Foote. She was terrific and I really enjoyed the play. Foote was adapting the nine-play Cycle into three parts when he died in March. It would be great to see more of his work and see his talented daughter on stage again.

A Streetcar Named Desire at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. I'd gladly make a trek from Manhattan to see Cate Blanchett as Blanche DuBois in this classic Tennessee Williams play. (Check out those pictures from the BAM Web site. Don't Cate and her Sydney Theatre Company costars Joel Edgerton and Robin McLeavy look intense!)

But the most intriguing plot description in the Times' listings: Romeo and Juliet, presented by the Nature Theater of Oklahoma. "Members of the troupe called people on the phone and asked them to recount from memory the plot of the Shakespearean tragedy of young love gone wrong. This version is the result."

Remembering Horton Foote

This is so sad. Playwright Horton Foote, one of America's "living literary wonders" in the words of former New York Times drama critic Frank Rich, died yesterday at age 92 in Hartford, Conn.

He had been adapting his nine-play Orphans' Home Cycle into three productions that will be presented by Hartford Stage Company and the Signature Theatre next fall.

While I've enjoyed Foote's movie work, until last fall I'd never seen one of his plays on stage. I'm so happy I took in his family saga Dividing the Estate, featuring his daughter Hallie Foote, when the Lincoln Center Theater production was on Broadway in November.

You know, sometimes you just want to sit back and be entertained - and I was, tremendously so. I laughed, the characters were memorable and the situations the family finds itself in rang true to life. I enjoyed the entire cast, including Elizabeth Ashley, Gerald McRaney, Penny Fuller and Devon Abner. But I especially loved Hallie Foote's performance.

While he started out wanting to be an actor, Foote's acclaim came from his writing - for movies, television and the stage. He won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play The Young Man from Atlanta and an Emmy in 1997 for a television adaptation of Old Man, a story by William Faulkner.

But it's his film work that probably garnered Foote the most public recognition. He received an Academy Award in 1962 for the screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird and another Oscar for the screenplay of the 1983 Robert Duvall film Tender Mercies. I first heard of Foote when I saw the 1985 movie adaptation of his play The Trip to Bountiful.

The Times obituary says that Foote "depicted the way ordinary people shoulder the ordinary burdens of life, finding drama in the resilience by which they carry on in the face of change, economic hardship, disappointment, loss and death."

Like many of his plays, Dividing the Estate was set in the fictional town of Harrison, Texas, a place not unlike the community near Houston where Foote grew up and where his father ran a clothing store. I'm sure many of the characters he included in his plays were people he knew from childhood, too. In 2003, Foote delivered a lecture at Baylor University on "Writing with a sense of place," which you can watch here.

After seeing Dividing the Estate, I waited with a few other hardy fans outside the stage door of the Booth Theatre. Hallie Foote and the rest of the cast were very gracious about talking to us and signing autographs on a blustery fall afternoon. I'm so glad I had a chance to tell her how much I loved her performance and how much I enjoyed her father's work. He was a great storyteller.

Hallie Foote, one of his four children, is currently performing in the Hartford Stage production of To Kill a Mockingbird. According to the Hartford Courant, she went on last night as the adult Scout Finch. "He was a wonderful father and a fine man, but I can hear him say 'Get to the theater, darling.' ''

Horton Foote is survived by four children: daughters Hallie and Daisy, a playwright; sons Walter, a lawyer and Horton Jr., an actor; and two grandchildren. In his honor, Broadway marquees will dim tonight at 8 p.m. for one minute.

His family asks that donations in his memory be made to one of his artistic homes: the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Lincoln Center, Signature Theatre Company and off-Broadway's Primary Stages.

Countdown to the Tonys

I know the weather outside was frightful earlier this week and June seems awfully far away. But we're halfway through the 2008-2009 Broadway season and the Tony Awards will be here before you know it. Based on the shows I saw in November, here are my nominations so far. What's great about my favorite performances is that I was seeing these actors on stage for the very first time.

Best Musical, Billy Elliot
I've seen three new musicals, Billy Elliot, Shrek and 13. So far, Billy Elliot gets my vote. It tells the story of a boy in a Northern England mining town with such heart and imagination and memorable characters. Plus, the dance numbers are amazing. But I really enjoyed 13 and I hope Jason Robert Brown gets a nomination for his energetic rock 'n' roll score. I'm also looking forward to 9 to 5 in the spring and I'm really sorry I missed [title of show].

Gregory Jbara, Billy Elliot
I loved Gregory Jbara as Billy's dad, a hardened, gruff man who can't imagine a life for his son that doesn't involve learning to box and going to work in the coal mines someday. Just the way he goes from being totally opposed to his son's desire to dance, to being totally sympathetic and supportive, is wonderful to watch. Jbara handles the transformation so well.

Haydn Gwynne, Billy Elliot
As Mrs. Wikinson, the no-nonsense dance teacher who takes Billy under her wing, Haydn Gwynne is hilarious and unforgettable. She really becomes the boy's champion and I love how tough she is in confronting his father. Except for the moments when Billy is dancing, Gwynne comes close to stealing the show for me.

Christopher Sieber, Shrek
As the ruthless and vertically challenged Lord Farquaad, Christopher Sieber was one of my favorite things about Shrek. He was very witty and hammed it up a bit without going over the top. I just felt like the musical had more of a spark and became more interesting when he was on stage.

Martha Plimpton, Pal Joey
Martha Plimpton was terrific in Pal Joey as chorus girl Gladys Bumps, who's been wronged by nightclub owner Joey Evans and schemes to get her revenge on him. She has a great comic touch and I especially loved what she does with the song "Zip."

Choreography, Billy Elliot
Peter Darling's choreography has made this musical such a tribute to the absolute joy of movement, the artistry and exuberance and sheer athleticism of dance. I loved all the tutu-clad little ballerinas and watching Billy transformed from awkwardness to grace. While Billy Elliot was my favorite, I hope Christopher Gattelli gets a nomination for 13. I really enjoyed his exuberant choreography, especially in the opening number, "13/Becoming a Man."

Costume design, Pal Joey
What impressed me about William Ivey Long's costumes for Pal Joey is the way they really help define each of the main characters - the smooth-talking ladies man Joey, looking very suave in his tuxedo; Gladys, the showgirl, looking cheap and flashy; Vera, the sophisticated, socialite in glamorous gowns and tailored suits; and Linda, the sweet and innocent shopgirl, in modest skirts and blouses.

Set design, Pal Joey
I loved the look of Scott Pask's sets for Pal Joey - the elevated train track in the background, the winding wrought-iron staircase leading down to this seedy, out-of-the-way nightclub in 1930s Chicago. Even when the action shifts to a luxury apartment or a clothes shop, Pask's set design retains its dark, somber tone, which is so in keeping with the tone of this musical.

Raul Esparza, Speed-the-Plow
For me, Raul Esparza's turn as Hollywood producer Charlie Fox was the best thing about Speed-the-Plow, especially watching him in the climactic third scene. It's a point when his livelihood, everything he's tried to achieve in the business, is at stake, and he delivers an amazing performance. His character's disintegration, desperation, truly was thrilling to watch.

Daniel Radcliffe, Equus
I didn't know what to expect from Daniel Radcliffe in Equus, but I came away being impressed by his performance as Alan Strang, a young man who inexplicably blinds six horses. Radcliffe does such a terrific job portraying this troubled soul - from his initial clipped, nonsensical dialog to his trembling under a blanket at the end of the play, after all his defenses have been stripped away.

Anna Camp, Equus
I thought Anna Camp nailed the role of Jill Mason, the more worldly girl who gets Strang a part-time job at the stable where she works, and lures him into a sexual situation. I don't think she means to hurt Strang but she's clearly leading him into something that he's not ready to handle. She's his total opposite - talkative and perky and confident. I love the way she carries herself - her blond ponytail bobbing. Camp is so effective in the role.

Hallie Foote, Dividing the Estate I laughed all the way through Dividing the Estate and I hope several cast members get nominations. But I especially loved Hallie Foote's performance as a daughter desperate to get her hands on her inheritance to ease her own family's financial crisis. She was so great to watch - sharp-tongued, covetous - and had a way of delivering the most outrageous lines with such perfect seriousness. What a hoot. I'd never heard of Hallie Foote before. What a wonderful discovery.

Dividing the Estate

Gratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****

I've been describing Dividing the Estate as kind of a cross between Dallas and Arrested Development - for its quirky characters and story of a multigenerational Southern family. But the family at the center of this funny and oh so true to life play by Horton Foote operates in a world all its own. After all, as Tolstoy might have said, every dysfunctional family is dysfunctional in its own way.

At first, I was afraid Dividing the Estate, at the Booth Theatre, was going to trade in stereotypes - decaying Southern gentry with the dissolute son and loyal African-American servants. But Foote has imbued his characters with so much humanity and made them so unique. The ensemble cast, under Michael Wilson's direction, is wonderful. For my money, it's an immensely entertaining, enjoyable couple of hours at the theatre.

You may not connect with the name Horton Foote, but you probably know the 92-year-old writer's work. He won an Academy Award in 1962 for the screenplay for To Kill a Mockingbird and another Oscar for the screenplay of the 1983 Robert Duvall film Tender Mercies. I first heard of Foote when I saw the 1985 movie adaptation of his play The Trip to Bountiful.

Like some of Foote's other works, Dividing the Estate is set in the fictional town of Harrison, Texas, where an affluent family is settling down to Sunday dinner. And the scenic design by Jeff Cowie accentuates the good breeding - the dining room and living room are comfortable and tastefully decorated. They may be growing cash poor, but they're house and land rich.

As the strong-willed matriarch Stella, Elizabeth Ashley is a bit forgetful but not as out of it as her family would think. She steadfastly refusing to divide up and sell the estate so that her children can have their inheritance sooner rather than later. (And prevent the tax collector from taking a big chunk, as her son-in-law helpfully points out). She doesn't much care for oil or gas drilling leases either.

Her three children are the n'er-do-well Lewis (Gerald McRaney), the genteel widow Lucille (Penny Fuller) and the acerbic Mary Jo (Hallie Foote), who's decamped to Houston with her husband Bob (James DeMarse) and two daughters. Lucille's only child, Son, (Devon Abner) is the levelheaded one, put in charge of the family's finances and responsible for doling out loans to his aunt and uncle. Arthur French turns in a terrific performance as Doug, the ancient servant the family can't quite convince to retire.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of love lost among these siblings and they have a whopping sense of entitlement. As the play goes on, family secrets are revealed and everyone gets more and more desperate, squabbling over who's getting what, who's more deserving. The economy's in poor shape. The characters are in various stages of scandal and/or crises that require generous applications of cash. Sure, this family may be better off than most, but their problems ring true.

Among the cast, Hallie Foote, daughter of the playwright, truly stands out. (She's also the wife of Devon Abner, who plays her nephew). Foote is absolutely thrilling to watch - hilarious, sharp-tongued, covetous - and I'd never heard of her before. While I'm always eager to see a familiar actor from tv or the movies on Broadway, there's nothing like the joy of discovery.