Dividing the Estate: playwright withdraws his play for consideration for a Lucille Lortel Award

The playwright Horton Foote has withdrawn his play Dividing the Estate from consideration for an award from this year's 2008 Lucille Lortel Theater Awards.

The play, which was produced off-Broadway by Primary Stages and played at 59E59's Theater A from 18 Sep - 28 Oct 2007 has been nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award in the 'Outstanding Revival' category.

However, both the playwright, and Primary Stages' do not consider the play to be a revival, as it has never been produced in New York before, and the work has been substantially revised by Foote since the play had its deput at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton in 1989.

A possible reason why Foote may not wish his play to be classified as a revival is to prevent the Lortels from setting a precedent of the play being similarly classified in other Award nominations, such as next year's Tonys or being considered ineligable for this year's Pulitzer Prize.

Dividing the Estate is a human comedy about a family that must confront its past as it prepares for its future with foxy cunning and hypocritical virtue.

Primary Stages off-Broadway production of Horton Foote's Dividing the Estate is to open on Broadway on 20 Nov 2008, following previews from 23 Oct, at a theatre to be announced.

The entire cast of the off-Broadway production are to reprise their roles for Broadway: Elizabeth Ashley (Stella), Arthur French (Doug), Hallie Foote (Mary Jo), Penny Fuller (Lucille), Gerald McRaney (Lewis), Devon Abner, James Colby, Lynda Gravatt, Virginia Kull, Maggie Lacey, Nicole Lowrance and Keiana Richard.

Michael Wilson, who directed the off-Broadway production will again helm the production.