The playwrights David Lindsay-Abaire and Naomi Wallace have been named the 2012 recipients of the Horton Foote Prize, a biennial award named for the playwright and screenwriter who died in 2009 at 92. Mr. Lindsay-Abaire's “Good People†was chosen as the outstanding new American play, and Ms. Wallace's “Liquid Plain†received the award for promising new American play. Each winner will receive $15,000 and a photograph of Mr. Foote.
Set in South Boston, “Good People†centers around Margie, a woman who reexamines her life after reuniting with an old boyfriend. The show opened on Broadway last year in a production by the Manhattan Theater Club. Mr. Lindsay-Abaire received a Tony Award nominatio n for best play; the actress Frances McDormand won a Tony for playing Margie.
Set in 18th-century Providence, R.I., “The Liquid Plain†is about the mysterious identities of two runaway slaves and a sailor. It is scheduled to have its premiere next July at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
The judges for the 2012 prize were the director Michael Wilson; Casey Childs, the executive producer of Primary Stages; Paige Evans, the artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3 series; and Evan Yionoulis, the resident director at Yale Repertory Theater. The four called “Good People†an “extremely moving, deeply human play that poignantly examines the ways in which class divides our nation,†and said Ms. Wallace employs “both a thrilling and unconventional narrative†in her new work.
In order to be nominated for the Foote prize, playwrights must have written at least four original full-length plays which have been produced by professional theaters.
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