THE STORY: Matriarch Mamie Borden and the remaining members of two longtime Texas farming families await a visit from Mamie’s son Hugo and his wife, Sybil. When Sybil arrives, alone, with alarming news, old friends on opposing sides must confront the issues surrounding legacy, loyalty, and the meaning of happiness that have hounded them for generations. THE OLD FRIENDS is an absorbing and vital chapter in Foote’s beloved and distinctly American body of work.
“…a precise and clear-eyed study in the arrogance of the entitled rich…ruthlessly well observed. You realize that in Harrison, being rich means never having to say you’re sorry…Mamie is trying to find the road that connects the past to the present, as if that might make her world seem steadier. That path runs through all of Foote’s plays, receding and coming into focus, and always a lonely highway.” —The New York Times.
“…endearing monsters…Foote’s unforgiving character study of Julia is matched and outclassed by his even nastier portrait of her 'friend’ and nemesis…It’s impossible to look away.” —Variety.
“From beyond the grave, crafty Horton Foote just keeps on evolving…this is Foote as unapologetic potboiler, half-Chekhov, half-Dallas, and great gooey gobs of grim Suhthun’ fun.” —New York Magazine.
