‘VPA takes ‘Trip to Bountiful’

WASILLA — Valley Performing Art’s last play of the season, “The Trip to Bountiful,” opens tonight and plays through May 27. Shows are at 8 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m., Sundays. Tickets are $15 for students and seniors, $17 for adults.

“The Trip to Bountiful” is the poignant story of an aging widow feeling imprisoned by life in Houston, Texas, seeking desperately to re-experience her memories of home and family. Cooped up in a cramped city apartment and chafing under the always watchful (and sometimes suspicious) eye of her daughter-in-law, Carrie Watts longs to return to the old homestead in Bountiful before she dies.

She eventually eludes her smothering relatives and escapes the city, falling in with a fellow traveler with whom she share stories and hymns as well as shoulders on the long train ride. She is also aided by a worn, but decent, bus station man before being accosted by the local sheriff, thanks to a police bulletin initiated by her daughter-in-law. Following Carrie’s impassioned plea, the sheriff agrees to accompany her on the last leg of her journey.

Sitting on the stoop of the long-abandoned home of her birth and near the graves of two children, she absorbs the sound of the birds, the salty air and a flood of memories. They combine to provide her with the anchor she needs to go on living in a world of certain confusion. Her son and daughter-in-law eventually arrive to collect her, and it seems possible all three have arrived at a better understanding of the power of place and their capacity to show more respect for one another.

Originally written as a televised play by Horton Foot in 1953, the play was performed on Broadway later that year and made into a movie in 1985 starring Geraldine Page, who received an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance of Carrie Watts.

Director Elizabeth Hanson welcomes veterans Bonnie Honkola, Ted Carney, DJ Rotach and Kit Roberts in the roles of Mrs. Watts, Ludie, The Sherriff and Roy. New to the VPA stage are Zena Merculief as Thelma and Morgan Johnmeyer as Jessie Mae.

The sentimental drama is appropriate for any age, but would be especially enjoyed by teens and adults.

VPA will accept nonperishable food donations at each performance on behalf of the Food Pantry of Wasilla.

The VPA Summer Theatre Arts Program is accepting applications for youths ages 6-11 and 12-17. Groups of 10 or more for a single performance receive a 10 percent discount when reserved with the VPA office. For more information or tickets, contact 373-0195 or visit valleyperformingarts.org.

— Submitted by Valley Performing Arts