'Trip to Bountiful' explores complicated family dynamics, the complexity of memory

Some plays are entertaining; others are exceptional. ArtsEmerson's production of Horton Foote’s "The Trip to Bountiful"(1954) is most definitely in the latter group -- it's an exceptional play in many regards. Now, just before Thanksgiving, "The Trip to Bountiful" is particularly relevant. Soon millions of people across the country will travel to visit loved ones, and many of them -- especially college students -- will be going home. Home and tradition exert an ineffable force that draws people far and wide. "The Trip to Bountiful" explores the strength and peculiarity of the importance of the home in peoples’ lives, and Foote’s examination of the home centers around the adventure of a single elderly woman, Carrie Watts, played by Tony Award winner Cicely Tyson, on her way to Bountiful, Texas, her childhood hometown.

It is remarkable how unremarkable Carrie’s adventure is as it unfolds in a series of vignettes portraying the day-to-day, and yet the play itself is consistently engaging. It is not a desire for home that drives Carrie, but a need for it. Time is of the essence to her, yet her family, whom she lives with in Houston, refuses to take her to Bountiful or to allow her to make the trip herself -- they are too busy, and she is too. Carrie receives few, if any, of the perks that go along with her age and position in the family -- she is a mother in title, but not in role. Instead, she functions as a provider while paradoxically acting chronically immature, helping make ends meet with her pension check and subverting her cohabitants’ authority at every opportunity with wit and whimsy. Even if she did not pine for Bountiful, it would still be clear that Ms. Watts is not at home in Houston.

Every episode that is set in Bountiful is an exposé -- both of Carrie, who is hardly ever absent from the stage, and of her companions. Best described as having the attitude of a child and the wit of a sage, Carrie is an endless font of character development, all of which links back to Bountiful and her memories of it. When she speaks, Bountiful sounds almost too good to be true -- an archetype of rural America.

But as Carrie finds out, Bountiful's most bounteous resource is its plethora of bygone dreams and memories. The town is gone before she is able to make her return. The rundown relic of her house that remains is a physical manifestation of her life with her son Ludie (Blair Underwood), an amalgamation of 1950s male stereotypes, and daughter-in-law Jessie Mae (Vanessa Williams) -- the very definition of a "monster-in-law" --  back in Houston. When she exclaims that the house is in worse repair than she had expected, it seems that this is only one facet of her surprise.

Yet, equally important, if not more so, than the physical home are the memories that come attached. Some credit for the beauty of "Bountiful" must be given to Foote’s writing, but the actor's performances truly elevate the script. Tyson, who received a Tony in 2013 for her portrayal of Carrie Watts, is utterly convincing as she balances wit, senility, hope, nostalgia and desire. Likewise, Watts' castmates give realistic performances as Carrie touches the lives of their characters.

Not all is perfect with this production, however enthrallingly close it may seem at times. Sometimes comedic quips inserted into emotional moments distract from the flow of the play. The uproarious laughter from the audience diminishes this tension of the situation when it may have been better to let the tension build to a release. At the same time, it is hard to entirely discredit these comedic moments because they usually come, rather naturally, from Carrie's multifaceted character. Outside of a few awkward moments, "The Trip to Bountiful" is a fantastic play, and this production has much to recommend it. "The Trip to Bountiful" will be performed at theCutler Majestic Theatre through Dec. 7.