Horton Foote’s 1953 television play plans to make another TV debut this coming weekend.
Lifetime’s rendition, The Trip to Bountiful, will recreate the original story.
The story first aired on NBC in 1953 and then went on Broadway the following year. In 1985, it was made into a Hollywood film featuring Geraldine Page and then made another Broadway comeback just last year.
One legendary actress who is excited to see her Broadway role on-camera is Cicely Tyson.
Tyson plays Carrie “Mother” Watts, whose final wish is to see her childhood home one last time before she dies.
The elderly woman lives in a small Houston, TX apartment along with her son Ludie (Blair Underwood) and his handful-of-a-wife Jessie Mae (Vanessa Williams).
For the most part, Mother Watts feels trapped and really desires to revisit her hometown Bountiful. However, her overprotective son forbids it since she doesn’t have a vehicle.
There’s obvious tension in the home, as the two ladies don’t see eye-to-eye when it comes to the man that they both dearly love.
Jessie Mae can be quite self-centered and controlling towards Ludie, so it causes her husband to feel forever in the middle of the women’s drama.
Tyson describes William’s character as “a piece of work” and their relationship as the typical relationship between in-laws. She believes, however, that Mother Watts’ character possesses one of the strongest willpower throughout the story.
“She has within her a fighting spirit that cannot be denied, and that is what I like about her,” she said, according to The Buffalo News . “Her feeling that God has kept her here for a purpose she is yet to fulfill, and she is determined to do it despite the odds.”
Against her son’s wish, Mother Watts leaves home and hops on a train in hopes to see her hometown. She ends up meeting a friend on the train who helps her make her way back home. She then finds out that Bountiful is not the same as she remembers it. (image)
The film’s message is said to be one that will inspire you to respect and appreciate your elders, which Tyson helps bring to life through her depiction.
Williams, who will also star in the re-created film, says that Tyson is an all around inspiring performer.
“I hope people get a chance to really see another spectacular performance from Cicely Tyson,” she said. “She informed me as an actress. People of a certain generation know her from ‘(The Autobiography of) Miss Jane Pittman,’ which was seared in our brains. To be able to see her again in such a pivotal role was an honor – to be with her and to watch her on a nightly basis.”
Tyson has already won a Tony Award for her recent Broadway performance. It’s safe to assume that this phenomenal actress will also add an Emmy to her award collection.
The Trip to Bountiful is scheduled to air on Lifetime this Saturday at 8 p.m.
Watch the trailer here:
Image via YouTube