Heck, Lacey, Foote and DeMarse Led THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE Begins Performances At Hartford Stage 9/3

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, the world premiere of a three part theatrical event by the late Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Horton Foote, will feature a company of 22 actors under the direction of Michael Wilson.

The exciting, sweeping work is co-produced in the 2009-2010 season by Hartford Stage (Michael Wilson, Artistic Director; Michael Stotts, Managing Director) and Signature Theatre Company (James Houghton, Founding Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director).

The production runs from September 3-October 24, 2009 at Hartford Stage and then November 5, 2009-March 6, 2010 at Signature Theatre Company. Rehearsals began on June 30th with selected members of The company; the full cast began rehearsals on Monday, July 20 in Hartford.

Set in Foote's fictitious town of Harrison, Texas and based partly on the childhood of Foote's father and the courtship and marriage of his parents, THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE is a wide-ranging, intricate work that spans the lives of three families over three decades. All actors in the production will be playing multiple roles and several will track their characters through time in the various plays which comprise the Cycle.

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE begins with a father's death in a small Texas town at the turn of the century, a loss that sends his son, Horace Robedaux, on an odyssey through the darkest corners of the heart as he learns to become a husband, father and patriarch. Bill Heck ("The Closer," "Medium," "Without a Trace," "CSI: New York") will play the central role of the adult Horace Robedaux, with Maggie Lacey (Dividing the Estate, Inherit the Wind, Our Town) as his wife, Elizabeth Vaughn Robedaux.

The playwright's daughter, Hallie Foote (2009 Tony Award nominee, Dividing the Estate), will play Elizabeth's mother, Mary Vaughn and James Demarse (Dividing the Estate, The Trip to Bountiful) will play Henry Vaughn.

The ensemble is rounded out by Devon Abner, Pat Bowie, Leon Addison Brown, Justin Fuller, Jasmine Harrison, Henry Hodges, Georgi James, Annalee Jefferies, Virginia Kull, Matt Mulhern, Gilbert Owour, Jenny Dare Paulin, Pamela Payton-Wright, Bryce Pinkham, Stephen Plunkett, Lucas Caleb Rooney, Dylan Riley Snyder and Charles Turner.

The design team for THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE includes Jeff Cowie and David Barber (Set Design), David Woolard (Costume Design), Rui Rita (Lighting Design), John Gromada (Original Music and Sound Design), Peter Pucci (Choreography), Ralph Zito (Voice/Dialect Coach) and Mark Olson (Fight Director).

Each part of the three part cycle will be staged individually as well as in repertory and one-day marathons. Audiences may choose to see the individual parts or the entire trilogy. Subscriptions for both the Hartford and Signature Productions are now on sale with details on the schedules available at www.hartfordstage.org and www.signaturetheatre.org.

Director Michael Wilson commented, "I am incredibly excited to be collaborating with Signature Theatre Company and working with this talented and dedicated cast on Horton's masterwork, THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE. These 22 remarkable actors will all be playing 71 characters as we take audiences in Hartford and New York through the early part of the 20th century in the world of the Robedaux, Thornton, and Vaughn families. It is a wonderful commitment of their time and talents to spend the next nine months exploring this world with such consummate artistry. Both Hartford Stage and Signature are incredibly grateful to our supporting sponsors on this project, which promises to be one of the most moving and exciting theatrical experiences of the upcoming season."

Foote completed work on THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE prior to his death on March 4, 2009 at the age of 92. The cycle features nine plays that were originally written as full-length pieces. Hartford Stage commissioned Foote in 2007 to adapt the plays in this new three-part form.

Part I ("The Story of a Childhood") begins at the turn of the 20th century and follows Horace Robedaux in his formative years. Part I begins with the plays Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts and Lily Dale.

Part II ("The Story of a Marriage") focuses on the courtship years of Horace Robedaux and his search for a wife. Part II consists of the plays The Widow Claire, Courtship and Valentine's Day.

Part III ("The Story of a Family") begins with the turmoil of World War I and ends with the characters looking to the future of their family and land. Part III is made up of the plays 1918, Cousins and The Death of Papa.

Four of the individual plays, Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts, Cousins and Valentine's Day, will be staged for the first time as part of the cycle.

In addition to the world premiere of THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, Foote is the subject of a biography, Horton Foote: America's Storyteller by Wilborn Hampton, to be released on September 8 by Simon and Schuster and his final screenplay, Main Street, starring Orlando Bloom, Colin Firth, Amber Tamblyn and Ellen Burstyn, is also scheduled for release this year.

Hartford Stage has produced the world premieres of The Carpetbagger's Children (which transferred Off-Broadway) and The Death of Papa (the last play in THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE), as well as the 50th anniversary revival of The Trip to Bountiful. Hartford Stage also recently presented the Broadway transfer of Mr. Foote's hit comedy, Dividing the Estate.

Signature Theatre Company devoted its 1994-1995 season to Horton Foote, including the world premieres of The Young Man from Atlanta (for which Foote won the Pulitzer Prize) and Laura Dennis and the New York premieres of Night Seasons and Talking Pictures. Signature also produced the world premiere of his The Last of the Thorntons in its 2000-2001 Season, as well as the award-winning production of The Trip to Bountiful in 2005 during The company's 15th anniversary season.

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE is made possible by a generous grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to Hartford Stage. Additional support is provided by the Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear Family Foundation.

The Signature Ticket Initiative is made possible by the lead sponsorship of Time Warner Inc. Support for Signature Theatre Company's Horton Foote Legacy Season is provided by American Express, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and the Laura Pels Foundation.

HARTFORD STAGE, under the leadership of Michael Wilson, artistic director, and Michael Stotts, managing director, begins its 46th MainStage season with THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE. Since its founding in 1963, Hartford Stage has produced over 320 new productions, among them 61 world or American premieres. Recent work includes a landmark production of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the world premiere of Daniel Beaty's Resurrection, several plays by Tennessee Williams during an unprecedented ten-year marathon of his work, including The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, Summer and Smoke, A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur, and the two-evening 8 By Tenn, which included three premieres. Other new work includes the premiere of Eve Ensler's Necessary Targets; the commission and premiere of Edward Albee's Peter and Jerry; the East Coast premiere of Lanford Wilson's Book of Days; and Matthew Barber's Enchanted April which transferred to Broadway. Works by Horton Foote that have been produced at Hartford Stage include The Trip to Bountiful, Dividing the Estate and the world premieres of The Death of Papa and The Carpetbagger's Children. The theatre has earned numerous distinguished honors, including a Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, the Margo Jones Award, OBIE awards and a New York Critics Circle award. In 2005 Hartford Stage was awarded The Hartford Courant's Tapestry Award recognizing its outstanding work in diversity and in 2008 it was awarded the Bank of America Neighborhood Builder's Award recognizing its excellent educational work in the Greater Hartford community. In addition to THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE by Horton Foote, playwrights currently under commission include Luis Alfaro, Daniel Beaty, Jorge Ignacio Cortinas, Elizabeth Egloff, Michael Elyanow, Quiara Alegria Hudes, James Lecesne and Craig Wright.

Signature Theatre COMPANY, founded in 1991 by James Houghton, exists to honor and celebrate the playwright. Signature makes an extended commitment to a playwright's body of work and during this journey, the writer is engaged in every aspect of the creative process. For the past 18 years, The company has devoted an entire season to the work of a single playwright, including re-examinations of past writings as well as New York and world premieres. By championing in-depth explorations of a living playwright's body of work, The company delivers an intimate and immersive journey into the playwright's singular vision.

Signature has presented entire seasons of the work of Edward Albee, Lee Blessing, Horton Foote, Maria Irene Fornes, John Guare, Bill Irwin, Adrienne Kennedy, Romulus Linney, Charles Mee, Arthur Miller, the historic Negro Ensemble Company, Sam Shepard, Paula Vogel, August Wilson and Lanford Wilson. Signature remains deeply committed to these season-long residencies and during The company's tenth and fifteenth anniversaries, Signature introduced the Legacy Program. The Legacy Program invites past Playwrights-in-Residence back to Signature through two series: the Signature Series, which presents "signature," or more well-known works; and the Premiere Series, which presents New York and world premieres. Last season Signature celebrated the historic Negro Ensemble Company, while its twentieth anniversary season (2010-2011) will feature the work of Tony Kushner.

Signature, its productions and its resident writers have been recognized with a Pulitzer Prize, 11 Lucille Lortel Awards, 14 OBIE Awards, five Drama Desk Awards, two Outer Critics Circle Awards and 19 AUDELCO Awards, among many other distinctions. The National Theatre Conference recognized The company as the 2003 Outstanding National Theatre of the Year.

Tickets to both individual and marathon performances of THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE at Hartford Stage are now on sale. Hartford Stage is located at 50 Church Street in downtown Hartford with parking located in the MAT Garage, directly adjacent to the theatre. The theatre is easily accessible from I-84 and I-91. For tickets and more information, call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Traditional and marathon subscriptions are now on sale for the Signature Theatre Company run of THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, with the box office open for individual ticket sales beginning September 15. Through The Signature Ticket Initiative, which seeks to make great theatre accessible to the broadest possible audience, all regularly-priced single tickets ($65) during the initial announced run are underwritten and will be available for $20 for the individual performances of all three parts. The Signature Ticket Initiative continues through Signature's 20th Anniversary Season (2010-2011).

The Signature Ticket Initiative is made possible by the lead sponsorship of Time Warner Inc. Generous support for The Signature Ticket Initiative is provided by Margot Adams, in memory of Mason Adams. THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE will play at The Peter Norton Space located at 555 West 42nd Street (between 10th and 11th Avenues). For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit signaturetheatre.org or call (212) 244-PLAY (7529).