Set in the fictitious town of Harrison, Texas and based partly on the childhood of playwright Horton Foote's father and the courtship and marriage of his parents, “The Orphans’ Home Cycle" spans the lives of three families over three decades.
The Story of a Marriage focuses on Horace Robedaux’s search for a wife and consists of the plays The Widow Claire, Courtship and Valentine’s Day.
What Is the Story of The Orphans’ Home Cycle: The Story of a Marriage?
The second part in a trilogy of nine plays centers on the young adulthood of hero Horace Robedaux, a character based on the father of playwright Horton Foote. Set in a small Texas town, the show consists of three plays, each an hour long: The Widow Claire (set in 1912) presents Horace’s attempt to woo the title character, a beautiful young mother of two spoiled children; Courtship (set in 1916) introduces the relationship between Horace and Elizabeth Vaughn, who fall in love over the objection of her wealthy parents; and Valentine’s Day (set in 1917) shows us what happens to Horace and Elizabeth in the year after she decides to marry him.