The Young Man From Atlanta

The Young Man from Atlanta is playing at the Signature Theatre located at 480 West 42nd Street. It runs two hours fifteen minutes with one intermission. The play closes on December 25, 2015.

Horton Foote is the playwright. He won a Pulitzer for Drama in 1995 for The Young Man from Atlanta. In 1997 it was performed at the Goodman Theatre. It was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. The played starred Rip Torn and Shirley Knight. Both were up for Tony Awards for their roles.

Kristine Nielsen was nominated for two Tony Awards for Gary, A Sequel to Titus (2019) and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013).

The Place is Houston, Texas 1950.

Tom (Aidan Quinn) is his is office. He is telling Tom (Dan Bittner) about the new house that he built and is about to move into. The job is his life. He’s worked there forty years. Tom tell things aren’t good at the company, they have lost three top clients. His boss Ted (Devon Abner) comes in and tells, him about the clients. Ted tells him he hasn’t been working up to par and he is fired.

Will decides he start his own business. He tells his wife Lily Dale (Kristine Nielson).

They are grieving their son’s death. He went swimming and didn’t know how to swim and drowned.

He can’t raise any money and asks his wife if she has any. Will gave her whatever she wanted. She had help taking care of the house. Lily tells him she gave their sons roommate some money. Will won’t meet him but Lily did. He claims he’s not working and his mother and sister are sick.

Lily stepfather Pete (Stephen Payne) lives with them. Will asks him if he has any money that he can lend him. At first, he’s reluctant to give him the $35,000 he has. Pete’s grandnephew visits him from Atlanta. Carson (Jon Orsini) tells him he knows the guy that claims he is Will’s son’s roommate. He says he’s not who he says he is, he is a liar.

Lily use to play the piano all the time but stopped. She is grieving her son’s death. Lily has taken up reading the bible.

Clara (Harriet D. Foy) their housekeeper mentions that lily should start playing the piano again. She mentions she met a woman that used to work for them. Will doesn’t remember her but Lily does. Clara says she would like to see them. Ella (Pat Bowie) recalls their son when he was five.

The story revolves around the loss of his job, his son’s death and his heart problems. You learn a little about Lily.

The story was interesting. But I felt no compassion for the characters. There we things left up in the air that during the show I was coming up with my own version. I left felling something was left out.

Review by Rozanna Radakovich.

Photo by Annazor.

To read a candid interview with the cast, scroll down to the left for photos. Click on photos for this and other shows.