Lizan Mitchell to Lead African-American Cast of Horton Foote’s The Trip to Bountiful

Lizan Mitchell will star as Carrie Watts in a new production of The Trip to Bountiful at Cleveland Play House, February 4-27. Timothy Douglas will direct the production, which will be the first time this play has been performed by an African-American cast. The production has the blessing of the late playwright’s daughter, actress Hallie Foote.

Trapped in a cramped Houston apartment with her soft-spoken son and self-absorbed daughter-in-law, widow Carrie Watts dreams of returning to her home in the small Gulf Coast town of Bountiful, where she grew up and raised her own family. Fearing that she’s an imposition and chafing under her daughter-in-law’s watchful eye, she steals away with her latest pension check and heads home in the journey of a lifetime.

The cast will also feature Doug Brown (Roy/ensemble), Jessica Frances Dukes (Thelma), Chinai J. Hardy (Jessie Mae Watts), Robert Jason Jackson (Ludie Watts), and Lawrence Redmond (Sheriff/ensemble).

The design team will include Tony Cisek (scenic design), Toni-Leslie James (costume design), Christopher Studley (lighting design), and James C. Swonger (sound designer).

Mitchell appeared on Broadway in So Long on Lonely Street, and received a Drama Desk nomination for her performance in Trojan Women. Additional stage credits include Having Our Say, Living in the Wind, Gum and for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf. Among her awards are honors from the Black Theatre Alliance, Helen Hayes Awards, and Audelco Awards. Her film and television credits include The Preacher’s Wife, Criminal Intent, and All My Children.

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