The Roads to Home *** B+

To mark the 100th anniversary of Horton Foote’s birth, Primary Stages has mounted a meticulous production of this Texas triptych, unseen in New York since 1992. The first two plays are set in Houston in 1924. In “Nightingale,” Mabel Votaugh (Hallie Foote) and her next-door neighbor Vonnie Hayhurst (Harriet Harris) are interrupted by an unwanted visit from Annie Gayle Long (Rebecca Brookheiser), a young woman who is clearly unstable. Like Mabel, Annie grew up in Harrison, Texas and has begun to visit Mabel daily to relive memories of home. Annie’s husband (Dan Bittner) comes to claim her and urge her to come home to their two small children. In “Dearest of Friends,” the most satirical of the three acts, we meet Mabel and Vonnie’s husbands. Jack Votaugh (Devon Abner) is a couch potato who asks to be awakened from his nap when it is bedtime. Eddie Hayhurst (Matt Sullivan) has fallen in love with a younger woman and begs Vonnie for a divorce. The final and saddest piece is “Spring Dance,” which takes place in Austin four years later. The formal attire in which Annie and the three men are dressed suggests a country club dance. The high wall at the back of the stage suggests otherwise. Two other Harrison natives are at the dance — Dave Dushon (Bittner), a young man who never speaks, and Greene Hamilton (Sullivan), who is easily excitable. Cecil Henry (Abner) is a man who expects to be leaving soon. As the act proceeds, the characters and the audience experience increasing disorientation and confusion. Some people find Hoote’s work too homespun, provincial or even corny. I am not one of them. He is adept in finding the universal in the particular. The production is topnotch. Jeff Cowie’s set design and David C. Woolard’s costumes are excellent. Director Michael Wilson (The Orphans’ Home Cycle, The Trip to Bountiful) once again demonstrates his affinity for the playwright’s work. The actors are very good. Hallie Foote was literally born to play the heroine in her father’s plays. (In the original production, she played Annie.) Harriet Harris successfully dials down her big personality to fit the ensemble. I liked Rebecca Brookheiser better in the third act than in the first. The three men are fine in their dual roles. If you appreciate Foote, you will be more than satisfied with your time spent at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Running time: two hours, five minutes including intermission.

The Heir Apparent ***

I wish I had been able to approach the CSC production of David Ives's "translaptation" (his neologism) of Jean-François Regnard's 1708 comedy unburdened by expectations. Unfortunately, I could not drive away the memory of CSC's brilliant 2011 production of "The School for Lies." Ives's riff on Moliere's "The Misanthrope," which I thought was one of the best plays of that year. The problem with this work is that Regnard is no Moliere. The humor is broader, less witty and more scatological. Although it makes for an enjoyable evening, the play doesn't reach the heights of Ives's best adaptations or original work. The plot is an old standby -- scheming to win the inheritance of an allegedly dying miser. The major source of the fun is in Ives' delightful rhyming couplets in iambic pentameter. His verses are filled with delightful anachronisms and modern cultural references, e.g. soccer moms, the 99%, CPR. The entire cast is excellent, first among them the always hilarious Carson Elrod ("The Explorers Club," "All in the Timing") as the servant whose crazy plans drive most of the action. Suzanne Bertish, Paxton Whitehead and David Pittu, ever the reliable actors, shine in their roles. Dave Quay, Amelia Pedlow and Claire Karpen are all fine too. John Lee Beatty's set is marvelously cluttered and David C. Woolard's costumes are appealing. Director John Rando keeps things moving along briskly, but I didn't like the choice to have an actor break character and address the audience a few times. I liked the play, but I would have liked it more if I had not seen other better work from Ives. Running time: 2 hours including intermission.

The Old Friends ***

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Horton Foote, Pulitzer Prize-winning chronicler of small-town American life as lived in Harrison, TX, worked on this play off and on for over 40 years, but apparently was still not completely satisfied with it when he died in 2009. Signature Theatre is now presenting its world premiere. In Foote Country, we are never far from family rivalries, greed, the lust for power, and in this instance, the nearest liquor bottle. Borden family matriarch Mamie (Lois Smith) is forced to live with her wealthy but greedy, unhappily married daughter Julia (Veanne Cox) and Julia’s rotund alcoholic husband Albert (Adam LeFevre) who makes no attempt to disguise his hatred of his mother-in-law. Their old friend Gertrude, a monstrously greedy, needy lush (Betty Buckley), is filled with unrequited love for her business manager Howard (Cotter Smith), younger brother of her late husband. Mamie’s long-absent daughter-in-law Sybil (Hallie Foote) returns to the family with news of her husband Hugo’s untimely demise. 30 year ago, she broke off her engagement to Howard and married Hugo out of spite. Gertrude regards Sybil’s return as a threat and acts accordingly. The equilibrium is further upset by the arrival in town of Tom (Sean Lyons), a good-looking young man on the make, who ignites a rivalry between Gertrude and Julia. For most of the play, Julia, Albert and Gertrude are drunk. The play’s imperfections include too many over-the-top emotions and a weak narrative arc. Nevertheless, Foote created a gallery of vivid characters superbly portrayed by a stellar cast. Novella Nelson and Melle Powers have little to do in roles as maids. Jeff Cowie’s set design and David C. Woolard’s costumes are excellent. Michael Wilson directs with the sure hand he always brings to a Foote play. Running time: 2 hours including intermission.

A reminder about ratings: I use a scale from 0 to 5 stars. 0 = Dreadful. * = Poor. ** = Fair.

*** = Good. **** = Very Good. ***** = Outstanding.

First Date ***

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This new musical at the Longacre Theatre takes us through a blind date between Aaron (Zachary Levi of TV's "Chuck"), an uptight, awkward Jewish financial analyst, and Casey (Krysta Rodriguez of TV's "Smash"), a Gentile free spirit with commitment issues and a taste for bad boys. The clever gimmick is that we also get to meet all the significant people in their lives who supply a ton of emotional baggage for the encounter. A versatile ensemble of five (Bryce Ryness, Kristoffer Cusick, Blake Hammond, Sara Chase and Kate Loprest) portray the waiter, Aaron's best friend, mother, grandmother, future son and ex-fiancee as well as Casey's sister, father, ex-boyfriends, therapist and gay best friend. The music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, who have written for Disney, is merely serviceable, but the book by Austin Winsberg has many flashes of wit. It helps a lot that Levi and Rodriguez are such appealing performers with good chemistry. David Gallo's set is not very attractive but functional. David C. Woolard's costumes are appropriate for the characters. Bill Berry's direction is unobtrusive. The theater was full and the mostly young audience was wildly enthusiastic. Good word of mouth may trump the critics here. I enjoyed it a lot more than "Nobody Loves You," which the Times made a Critic's Pick. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.

Talley's Folly **

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Roundabout Theatre's revival of Lanford Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about an unlikely romance in small-town Missouri in 1944 is now in previews at the Laura Pels. The good news is that it much more successful than their recent revival of "Picnic." The not-so-good news is that the casting is less than ideal. If I had not seen the original production with Judd Hirsch as Matt Friedman, I might not have had as much difficulty accepting Danny Burstein in the part. Although I have admired Burstein in other plays, I thought he was miscast here. He seems too old, too unattractive, too given to shtick and too devoid of charm to be a plausible love interest for Sally Talley. Sarah Paulson also looked a bit old for her part, but handled the role well. Jeff Cowie's enormous set, so big that they had to remove two rows of seats to make room for it, calls too much attention to itself and subverts the intimacy of the play. David C. Woolard's costumes are fine.   Michael Wilson's direction lacked nuance. Nevertheless, even a flawed production of this fine play is welcome. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes without intermission.