Dividing the Estate
Dividing the Estate is a play by Horton Foote. The play premiered at the McCarter Theatre in 1989 and Off-Broadway in 2007, winning the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. Overview Set in the fictional town of Harrison, Texas, in 1987, it focuses on the Gordons, a clan of malcontents ruled by octogenarian matriarch Stella that must prepare for an uncertain future when plunging real estate values and an unexpected tax bill have a negative impact on the family fortune. Stella's children - predatory Mary Jo, complacent Lucille, and alcoholic Lewis - engage in a debate about whether or not they should divide the estate while their mother is still alive in order to ensure themselves financial independence. Productions The play premiered at the McCarter Theatre in New Jersey in 1989. Presented by Primary Stages Theater, it opened on September 27, 2007 at the Off-Broadway 59E59 Theaters, where it ran until October 27. Directed by Michael Wilson, the cast included Elizabeth Ashley as Stella, Hallie Foote as Mary Jo, Penny Fuller as Lucille, and Gerald McRaney as Lewis. Horton Foote won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and the Obie Award for Playwriting.