August: Osage County
Encyclopedia
August: Osage County is a darkly comedic
play by Tracy Letts
. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre
in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and transferred to the Music Box Theatre
on 29 April 2008. The Broadway show closed on 28 June 2009 after 648 performances and 18 previews.
The show made its UK Debut at London's National Theatre
in November 2008. A US national tour began on 24 July 2009, with its first performance at Denver's Buell Theatre.
.
Prologue
The play opens with Beverly Weston, a once-famous poet, interviewing Johnna, a young Native American woman, for a position as live-in cook and caregiver for his wife Violet, who is being treated for mouth cancer. She is addicted to several different kinds of prescription drugs and exhibits paranoia and mood swings. Beverly, who freely admits that he is an alcoholic, lightly converses about Violet's current problems, most of which Beverly concedes are the result of her personal demons far worse than the drugs can cure. Violet enters the scene clearly affected by her drugs. After an incoherent and combative argument with Beverly, Violet returns upstairs. Beverly hires Johnna, lends her a book of TS Eliot's poetry and continues to drink.
Act One
Several weeks later. Beverly Weston has not been seen for five days. Several family members have gathered in the house to provide support for Violet including her daughter Ivy, her sister Mattie Fae and Mattie Fae's husband Charlie. When Violet is not making calls attempting to track down her husband or popping pills, she spends the time snipping at her family, particularly Ivy, who she criticizes for her mode of dress and lack of a romantic life. The news comes that Beverly's boat is missing, ramping up the fears that he has committed suicide. Ivy's older sister Barbara arrives from Boulder, Colorado
with her husband Bill and 14-year-old daughter Jean. Barbara has not visited her mother in several years, and has mixed feelings about returning to the house due to the confrontational nature of their relationship. They fall into an argument almost immediately, during which Violet accuses her of abandoning her family, which broke her father's heart.
Later in the evening, Jean bonds with Johnna after the older woman allows her to smoke some marijuana in her room. She confides to Johnna that her parents are separated and are attempting to hide the fact from the family. Bill and Barbara argue over the cause of their separation as they make a bed out of the fold-out sofa in the living room: Bill is sleeping with a much-younger woman, one of his students at the university where he teaches. At Five AM, the local sheriff, Deon Gilbeau (Barbara's high school boyfriend) rings the doorbell and breaks the news that Beverly has been found drowned. Barbara goes to identify the body as Violet comes downstairs in a drug-addled fog. The act ends with her spiraling into confusion.
Act Two
Several days later. The family has come from Beverly's funeral. Violet takes a quiet moment alone in Beverly's office, bitterly reproaching him for leaving her, and takes some more pills. Before the memorial dinner prepared for the family by Johnna, several family arguments and scenes are shown. Ivy and Barbara's sister Karen has flown in from Florida with her new fiancé and can talk about nothing except her wedding plans, aggravating Barbara. During an argument with her mother and Mattie Fae, Ivy unwittingly confesses that she is seeing someone romantically but refuses to say who. Mattie Fae and Charlie's son Little Charles has overslept and missed the funeral. His father is sympathetic but Mattie Fae is, as usual, rude and critical to her son. Karen's fiancé, Steve, discovers that Jean is a pot-smoker and offers to share his stash with her, lewdly flirting with the teenaged girl. In a private moment, it is revealed that Ivy's lover is actually Little Charles, her first cousin.
Dinner is served, and Violet begins insulting and needling all of her family members. After inappropriately discussing Beverly's will at the table she cruelly exposes Barbara and Bill's separation. When Barbara starts to fight back, Violet tauntingly reveals the full extent of her addiction, and tensions rise into a violent confrontation, culminating in Barbara physically attacking her Mother. After family members separate them, Barbara takes control of the situation, ordering that the family raid the house to discover all of Violet's hiding places for her pills.
Act Three
Several hours later things have calmed down, but the pain of the dinner confrontation has not gone away. Ivy reports that Violet's doctor thinks she has brain damage, and the three sisters share a drink in their father's study, discussing their mother. Ivy reveals that she and Little Charles are planning to run away to New York, and refuses to acknowledge who will now take care of Violet. She reveals that it was Violet, not Beverly, who was heartbroken when Barbara left Oklahoma. Violet enters, now more coherent and off her drugs but no less incorrigible, is resigned to dealing with her demise on her terms. She discusses a depressing story from her childhood with her daughters. In a private moment, Barbara and Violet apologize to each other, but it is uncertain how long the peace will last.
Mattie Fae observes a tender moment between Little Charles and Ivy, and begins taunting him again when the ever-patient Charles finally looses his temper with his wife, berating her for her cruelty to her own son and promising her that unless she can find a way to be kind to Little Charles, he is going to leave her. The lecture is accidentally overheard by Barbara, who confirms when pressed that Little Charles and Ivy are lovers. She is shocked when Mattie Fae reveals that Little Charles is not Ivy's cousin but her half-brother, the result of a long-ago affair between Mattie Fae and Beverly. She refuses to tell Ivy or Little Charles the truth, leaving it up to Barbara, who knows that the news will destroy Ivy, to find a way to end the incestuous affair.
Late that night, Steve and Jean share a joint, and before long, Steve attempts to molest Jean. Johnna walks in on the scene and attacks Steve with a frying pan, the noise bringing Jean's parents and Karen to the scene. An ugly argument follows when Jean defensively lashes out at her parents with hurtful comments about her father's affair, and Barbara slaps her. Karen leaves with Steve, choosing to lie to herself and mistakenly blaming Jean for what happened. Bill elects to return to Bolder with Jean and admits, when Barbara confronts him, that he is not going to come back to her. He leaves as Barbara tells him she loves him.
Two weeks pass. Barbara, now drinking heavily, offers Johnna a chance to quit and leave the toxic environment of the Weston house, but she chooses to stay. Sheriff Gilbeau drops by the house with the news that Beverly had stayed at a motel shortly before he committed suicide. He and Barbara nearly share a tender moment, but she is too emotionally exhausted and drunk to complete it.
Several days later, Ivy has dinner with Barbara and Violet. Ivy attempts to tell her mother, over Barbara's objections, of her plans with Little Charles but Violet suddenly confesses that she already knows that Little Charles is Beverly's son. Ivy recoils in shock and horror, rebuffing Barbara's attempts to comfort her, she says that she will never tell him and leave for New York anyway and leaves the house. Violet calmly reveals that she has deliberately destroyed Ivy and Charles' affair, which she knew of the entire time. Barbara and her mother have one last angry confrontation during which Violet blames Barbara for her father's suicide. Violet also reveals his suicide might have been preventable since she knew which motel he stayed in the night he left the house. Barbara, realising that her Mother has slipped beyond her help, leaves the house. Violet breaks down and is left only with Johnna, who ends the play with a recitation from a T.S. Elliot poem: "This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends".
Violet Weston: The mother and matriarch of the Weston family, aged 65. She is addicted to several prescription drugs, mostly depressants and narcotics. After an ugly rant at Beverly's funeral dinner, the family's focus shifts to keeping her clean. Despite her drug-induced episodes, she is sharp-tongued and shrewd: she is aware of the family's many secrets and not hesitant to reveal them for her own benefit.
Barbara Fordham: The oldest daughter of the Weston Family, age 46. Mother of Jean and wife of Bill, though they are currently separated. She is a college professor in Boulder, Colorado
. She wants to save her marriage, but has the intense need to control everything around her as it falls apart.
Ivy Weston: The middle daughter of the Weston family, age 44. The only daughter to stay in Oklahoma, she teaches at the local college, and her calm and patient exterior hides a passionate woman who is gradually growing cynical. She is secretly having an affair with her "cousin", Little Charles, and plans to move to New York with him.
Karen Weston: The youngest daughter in the Weston family, age 40. She is newly engaged to Steve, whom she considers the "perfect man", and lives with him in Florida, planning to marry him soon. Karen can talk of little else but her own happiness even at her father's funeral, and she clearly chooses to lie to herself about her sleezy fiancé rather than face the reality of not getting a happy ending.
Bill Fordham: Barbara's estranged husband and Jean's father, age 49. A college professor, he has left his wife for a younger woman named Cindy, one of his students, but wants to be there for his family. His marriage is disintegrating and his patience is slowly running thin.
Jean Fordham: Bill and Barbara's smart-tongued 15-year-old daughter. She smokes pot and cigarettes, is a vegetarian, loves old movies, and is bitter about her parents' split. More naive than she would like to believe.
Steve Heidebrecht: Karen's fiancé, age 50. A businessman in Florida, (whose buisness, it is hinted, centers around the Middle East and may be less than legitimate) and not the "perfect man" that Karen considers him. He eventually attempts to sexually molest Jean after the two smoke pot together.
Mattie Fae Aiken: Violet's sister, Charlie's wife and Little Charles' mother, age 57. Just as jaded as her sister, Mattie Fae constantly belittles her son and antagonizes her husband. Eventually she reveals the major plot point that Beverly, not Charlie, is the real father of Little Charles.
Charlie Aiken: Husband of Mattie Fae and the presumed father of Little Charles, age 60. Charlie, a genial man, was a lifelong friend of Beverly. He struggles to get Mattie Fae to respect Little Charles.
"Little" Charles Aiken: Son of Mattie Fae and Beverly, 37 years old—but, like everyone else, he believes Charlie is his father. Unemployed and clumsy, his mother calls him a "screw-up", which may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. He is secretly having an affair with Ivy, who is revealed to actually be his sister.
Johnna Monevata: A Cheyenne
Indian woman, age 26, whom Beverly hires as a live-in housekeeper shortly before he disappears. Violet is prejudiced against her, but she wins over the other family members with her cooking skills, hard work, and empathy. Johnna is the silent witness to much of the mayhem in the house.
Sheriff Deon Gilbeau: A high-school classmate and former boyfriend of Barbara's, age 47, who brings the news of Beverly's suicide to the family.
The Broadway production began previews on 30 October 2007 at the Imperial Theatre only days before the 2007 Broadway stagehand strike
on 10 November which temporarily closed most shows on Broadway. The strike continued through the official opening date of 20 November, forcing the show to re-schedule its 4 December opening. The Broadway show closed on 28 June 2009 after 648 performances and 18 previews.
The production, originally slated to close on 17 February 2008, was extended for three weeks to 9 March after the strike
, and later extended to 13 April 2008. when it was subsequently given an open-ended commercial run.
Both the Steppenwolf and Broadway productions were directed by Anna D. Shapiro, featuring scenic design by Todd Rosenthal
, costume design by Ana Kuzmanic, lighting design by Ann G. Wrightson, sound design by Richard Woodbury, original music by David Singer, dramaturgy by Edward Sobel, dialect coaching by Cecille O'Reilly, and fight choreography by Charles Coyl. Both productions were stage managed by Deb Styer, with Jane Grey joining the New York company.
August: Osage County made its UK debut at London's National Theatre
in November 2008.
Additionally, a US National Tour was launched at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House
on 24 July 2009 with Estelle Parsons
portraying the role as Violet. This production went on to tour throughout the country.
The play made its Israeli debut at the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv in January 2009 starring Gila Almagor
.
Also, the play made its Puerto Rican debut at the Rene Marquez Theater Hall of the Luis A. Ferre Performing Arts Center
in San Juan
in March 2009 starring Gladys Rodríguez
.
It also was presented in Australia, at the Arts Centre Playhouse, Melbourne, produced by the Melbourne Theatre Company, and starring Robyn Nevin, from the 23 May to 27 June 2009.
The play had its German premiere in Mannheim at the Nationaltheater (31 October 2008) under the title "Eine Familie" (German for "A family"), directed by Burkhard C. Kosminski. The Austrian premiere in Vienna, in the Akademietheater from 31 October 2009 onwards was staged by the latvian director Alvis Hermanis and featured Kirsten Dene in the role of Violet Weston.
The play has been translated into Spanish and has premiered in Buenos Aires
, Argentina at the Teatro Lola Membrives, starring Norma Aleandro
and Mercedes Morán. It has been successfully running there for more than a year now, with frequent sold-outs.
The play made its Swedish debut at [Göteborg City Theatre] http://www.stadsteatern.goteborg.se/. Opening Night on 29 January 2010, starring Ann Petrén, and its Danish at the Betty Nansen
Theatre in Copenhagen.
August is as well due to premiere in Montevideo
by mid-2010, at the Teatro El Galpón, after the success of the Argentinian production.
August was premiered on 29 April 2010 in Lima
, at the Teatro La Plaza – Isil, starring Claudia Dammert.
The Steppenwolf Theatre Company
opened a production in Sydney in conjunction with the Sydney Theatre Company
in August 2010.
The New Zealand premiere of the play was presented by Auckland Theatre Company
in September 2010, starring Jennifer Ward-Lealand
, Stuart Devenie
and Nancy Brunning
and directed by Colin McColl. The Wellington production opened at Circa Theatre on 1 April 2011, with Jennifer Ludlam reprising the role of Violet.
The play had its national regional premiere on 9 September of 2010 in Albuquerque, NM with Fusion Theatre Company. According to the website for the company, the run for this production was completely sold out. The cast included professional and Tony-nominated actors such as Laurie Thomas and Joanne Camp, and directed by Gil Lazier. Review: http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/alb/alb15.html
The play had its Ohio regional and university premiere on 23 September of 2010 in a co-production of The Human Race Theatre Company
and Wright State University
Theatre. The production was the first co-production of its kind for this play, combining seven professional actors with six students (EMC candidates) in WSU's BFA Acting program, and played to over four thousand during its three week run in the Robert and Elaine Stein Auditorium on the Wright State campus. This production featured Susanne Marley as Violet Weston, a role she had played in the Broadway production, as well as Rainbow Dickerson, also from the Broadway production, as well as six students from the WSU undergraduate theatre program.
The play has its Dutch premiere on 1 May 2011 at the Stadsschouwburg Utrecht (Utrecht City Theatre) by theatre company De Utrechtse Spelen. It will be directed by Antoine Uitdehaag and stars Tjitske Reidinga, Peter Blok, Ria Eimers and Tom de Ket. The Dutch title is Augustus: Oklahoma.
It made its Florida premiere at Florida Repertory Theatre Company in Fort Myers in March 2011. On April, 20th, 2011 8 pm the show will kick off at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
August: Osage County had its first college premiere at Western Illinois University on 20 April 2011. Due to a serious fall during its final week of rehearsal, the director had to step in for the lead and perform the role of Violet Weston.
In India, veteran theatre actor and director Lillete Dubey has directed a slightly adapted version of the play and has been touring with it in several Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. In the Indian version, while the name of the play and those of most characters remain the same, the narrative has been shifted to the Indian state of Goa. Many well-known Indian theatre and film actors have major roles in the play, with Dubey herself playing the role of Violet with Sandhya Mridul as Barbara, Kitu Gidwani as Mattie, Mita Vashisht as Karen and Suchitra Pillai as Ivy.
an adaptation of the play which
(*) Steppenwolf Ensemble Members
(*) Steppenwolf Ensemble Member
(*) Steppenwolf Ensemble Member
A film production of August: Osage County is being prepared by producers Harvey Weinstein
and Jean Doumanian
. The film, to be produced and distributed by The Weinstein Company
, will be directed by television veteran John Wells
. Meryl Streep
and Julia Roberts
were in talks to star as of September 2010.
Awards
. Of this, Tracy Letts has stated, "I could never come up with a title as brilliant as 'August: Osage County.' Mr. Howard Starks, gentleman, teacher, poet, genius, mentor, friend, created that title for an extraordinary poem that is one of the inspirations for my play. I steal the title with deference, yet without apology – Howard, I'm sure, would have it no other way – and I dedicate this play to his memory."
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
play by Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts is an American playwright and actor who received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County.-Biography:...
. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and transferred to the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
on 29 April 2008. The Broadway show closed on 28 June 2009 after 648 performances and 18 previews.
The show made its UK Debut at London's National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in November 2008. A US national tour began on 24 July 2009, with its first performance at Denver's Buell Theatre.
Plot
The action takes place over the course of several weeks in August inside the three-story home of Beverly and Violet Weston outside Pawhuska, OklahomaPawhuska, Oklahoma
Pawhuska is a city in and the county seat of Osage County, Oklahoma, United States, and the capital of the Osage Nation. The population was 3,589 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1.2 percent from 3,629 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Code for the city is 74056...
.
Prologue
The play opens with Beverly Weston, a once-famous poet, interviewing Johnna, a young Native American woman, for a position as live-in cook and caregiver for his wife Violet, who is being treated for mouth cancer. She is addicted to several different kinds of prescription drugs and exhibits paranoia and mood swings. Beverly, who freely admits that he is an alcoholic, lightly converses about Violet's current problems, most of which Beverly concedes are the result of her personal demons far worse than the drugs can cure. Violet enters the scene clearly affected by her drugs. After an incoherent and combative argument with Beverly, Violet returns upstairs. Beverly hires Johnna, lends her a book of TS Eliot's poetry and continues to drink.
Act One
Several weeks later. Beverly Weston has not been seen for five days. Several family members have gathered in the house to provide support for Violet including her daughter Ivy, her sister Mattie Fae and Mattie Fae's husband Charlie. When Violet is not making calls attempting to track down her husband or popping pills, she spends the time snipping at her family, particularly Ivy, who she criticizes for her mode of dress and lack of a romantic life. The news comes that Beverly's boat is missing, ramping up the fears that he has committed suicide. Ivy's older sister Barbara arrives from Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
with her husband Bill and 14-year-old daughter Jean. Barbara has not visited her mother in several years, and has mixed feelings about returning to the house due to the confrontational nature of their relationship. They fall into an argument almost immediately, during which Violet accuses her of abandoning her family, which broke her father's heart.
Later in the evening, Jean bonds with Johnna after the older woman allows her to smoke some marijuana in her room. She confides to Johnna that her parents are separated and are attempting to hide the fact from the family. Bill and Barbara argue over the cause of their separation as they make a bed out of the fold-out sofa in the living room: Bill is sleeping with a much-younger woman, one of his students at the university where he teaches. At Five AM, the local sheriff, Deon Gilbeau (Barbara's high school boyfriend) rings the doorbell and breaks the news that Beverly has been found drowned. Barbara goes to identify the body as Violet comes downstairs in a drug-addled fog. The act ends with her spiraling into confusion.
Act Two
Several days later. The family has come from Beverly's funeral. Violet takes a quiet moment alone in Beverly's office, bitterly reproaching him for leaving her, and takes some more pills. Before the memorial dinner prepared for the family by Johnna, several family arguments and scenes are shown. Ivy and Barbara's sister Karen has flown in from Florida with her new fiancé and can talk about nothing except her wedding plans, aggravating Barbara. During an argument with her mother and Mattie Fae, Ivy unwittingly confesses that she is seeing someone romantically but refuses to say who. Mattie Fae and Charlie's son Little Charles has overslept and missed the funeral. His father is sympathetic but Mattie Fae is, as usual, rude and critical to her son. Karen's fiancé, Steve, discovers that Jean is a pot-smoker and offers to share his stash with her, lewdly flirting with the teenaged girl. In a private moment, it is revealed that Ivy's lover is actually Little Charles, her first cousin.
Dinner is served, and Violet begins insulting and needling all of her family members. After inappropriately discussing Beverly's will at the table she cruelly exposes Barbara and Bill's separation. When Barbara starts to fight back, Violet tauntingly reveals the full extent of her addiction, and tensions rise into a violent confrontation, culminating in Barbara physically attacking her Mother. After family members separate them, Barbara takes control of the situation, ordering that the family raid the house to discover all of Violet's hiding places for her pills.
Act Three
Several hours later things have calmed down, but the pain of the dinner confrontation has not gone away. Ivy reports that Violet's doctor thinks she has brain damage, and the three sisters share a drink in their father's study, discussing their mother. Ivy reveals that she and Little Charles are planning to run away to New York, and refuses to acknowledge who will now take care of Violet. She reveals that it was Violet, not Beverly, who was heartbroken when Barbara left Oklahoma. Violet enters, now more coherent and off her drugs but no less incorrigible, is resigned to dealing with her demise on her terms. She discusses a depressing story from her childhood with her daughters. In a private moment, Barbara and Violet apologize to each other, but it is uncertain how long the peace will last.
Mattie Fae observes a tender moment between Little Charles and Ivy, and begins taunting him again when the ever-patient Charles finally looses his temper with his wife, berating her for her cruelty to her own son and promising her that unless she can find a way to be kind to Little Charles, he is going to leave her. The lecture is accidentally overheard by Barbara, who confirms when pressed that Little Charles and Ivy are lovers. She is shocked when Mattie Fae reveals that Little Charles is not Ivy's cousin but her half-brother, the result of a long-ago affair between Mattie Fae and Beverly. She refuses to tell Ivy or Little Charles the truth, leaving it up to Barbara, who knows that the news will destroy Ivy, to find a way to end the incestuous affair.
Late that night, Steve and Jean share a joint, and before long, Steve attempts to molest Jean. Johnna walks in on the scene and attacks Steve with a frying pan, the noise bringing Jean's parents and Karen to the scene. An ugly argument follows when Jean defensively lashes out at her parents with hurtful comments about her father's affair, and Barbara slaps her. Karen leaves with Steve, choosing to lie to herself and mistakenly blaming Jean for what happened. Bill elects to return to Bolder with Jean and admits, when Barbara confronts him, that he is not going to come back to her. He leaves as Barbara tells him she loves him.
Two weeks pass. Barbara, now drinking heavily, offers Johnna a chance to quit and leave the toxic environment of the Weston house, but she chooses to stay. Sheriff Gilbeau drops by the house with the news that Beverly had stayed at a motel shortly before he committed suicide. He and Barbara nearly share a tender moment, but she is too emotionally exhausted and drunk to complete it.
Several days later, Ivy has dinner with Barbara and Violet. Ivy attempts to tell her mother, over Barbara's objections, of her plans with Little Charles but Violet suddenly confesses that she already knows that Little Charles is Beverly's son. Ivy recoils in shock and horror, rebuffing Barbara's attempts to comfort her, she says that she will never tell him and leave for New York anyway and leaves the house. Violet calmly reveals that she has deliberately destroyed Ivy and Charles' affair, which she knew of the entire time. Barbara and her mother have one last angry confrontation during which Violet blames Barbara for her father's suicide. Violet also reveals his suicide might have been preventable since she knew which motel he stayed in the night he left the house. Barbara, realising that her Mother has slipped beyond her help, leaves the house. Violet breaks down and is left only with Johnna, who ends the play with a recitation from a T.S. Elliot poem: "This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends".
Characters
Beverly Weston: The father and patriarch of the Weston family, aged 69. An alcoholic and former poet, his mysterious disappearance one evening and eventually discovered death are the reasons for the family's reunion. The reasons for his alleged suicide are a major plot point that bring some of the family's dark past painfully back into the light.Violet Weston: The mother and matriarch of the Weston family, aged 65. She is addicted to several prescription drugs, mostly depressants and narcotics. After an ugly rant at Beverly's funeral dinner, the family's focus shifts to keeping her clean. Despite her drug-induced episodes, she is sharp-tongued and shrewd: she is aware of the family's many secrets and not hesitant to reveal them for her own benefit.
Barbara Fordham: The oldest daughter of the Weston Family, age 46. Mother of Jean and wife of Bill, though they are currently separated. She is a college professor in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
. She wants to save her marriage, but has the intense need to control everything around her as it falls apart.
Ivy Weston: The middle daughter of the Weston family, age 44. The only daughter to stay in Oklahoma, she teaches at the local college, and her calm and patient exterior hides a passionate woman who is gradually growing cynical. She is secretly having an affair with her "cousin", Little Charles, and plans to move to New York with him.
Karen Weston: The youngest daughter in the Weston family, age 40. She is newly engaged to Steve, whom she considers the "perfect man", and lives with him in Florida, planning to marry him soon. Karen can talk of little else but her own happiness even at her father's funeral, and she clearly chooses to lie to herself about her sleezy fiancé rather than face the reality of not getting a happy ending.
Bill Fordham: Barbara's estranged husband and Jean's father, age 49. A college professor, he has left his wife for a younger woman named Cindy, one of his students, but wants to be there for his family. His marriage is disintegrating and his patience is slowly running thin.
Jean Fordham: Bill and Barbara's smart-tongued 15-year-old daughter. She smokes pot and cigarettes, is a vegetarian, loves old movies, and is bitter about her parents' split. More naive than she would like to believe.
Steve Heidebrecht: Karen's fiancé, age 50. A businessman in Florida, (whose buisness, it is hinted, centers around the Middle East and may be less than legitimate) and not the "perfect man" that Karen considers him. He eventually attempts to sexually molest Jean after the two smoke pot together.
Mattie Fae Aiken: Violet's sister, Charlie's wife and Little Charles' mother, age 57. Just as jaded as her sister, Mattie Fae constantly belittles her son and antagonizes her husband. Eventually she reveals the major plot point that Beverly, not Charlie, is the real father of Little Charles.
Charlie Aiken: Husband of Mattie Fae and the presumed father of Little Charles, age 60. Charlie, a genial man, was a lifelong friend of Beverly. He struggles to get Mattie Fae to respect Little Charles.
"Little" Charles Aiken: Son of Mattie Fae and Beverly, 37 years old—but, like everyone else, he believes Charlie is his father. Unemployed and clumsy, his mother calls him a "screw-up", which may be a self-fulfilling prophecy. He is secretly having an affair with Ivy, who is revealed to actually be his sister.
Johnna Monevata: A Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
Indian woman, age 26, whom Beverly hires as a live-in housekeeper shortly before he disappears. Violet is prejudiced against her, but she wins over the other family members with her cooking skills, hard work, and empathy. Johnna is the silent witness to much of the mayhem in the house.
Sheriff Deon Gilbeau: A high-school classmate and former boyfriend of Barbara's, age 47, who brings the news of Beverly's suicide to the family.
Productions
Produced by Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the show originally ran at Steppenwolf in Chicago in the Downstairs Theatre.The Broadway production began previews on 30 October 2007 at the Imperial Theatre only days before the 2007 Broadway stagehand strike
2007 Broadway stagehand strike
2007 Broadway Stagehands Strike was a strike action by stagehands represented by Theatrical Protective Union Number One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees against the Shubert, Jujamcyn, and Nederlander theaters...
on 10 November which temporarily closed most shows on Broadway. The strike continued through the official opening date of 20 November, forcing the show to re-schedule its 4 December opening. The Broadway show closed on 28 June 2009 after 648 performances and 18 previews.
The production, originally slated to close on 17 February 2008, was extended for three weeks to 9 March after the strike
2007 Broadway stagehand strike
2007 Broadway Stagehands Strike was a strike action by stagehands represented by Theatrical Protective Union Number One of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees against the Shubert, Jujamcyn, and Nederlander theaters...
, and later extended to 13 April 2008. when it was subsequently given an open-ended commercial run.
Both the Steppenwolf and Broadway productions were directed by Anna D. Shapiro, featuring scenic design by Todd Rosenthal
Todd Rosenthal
Todd Rosenthal is an American scenic designer. He won the 2007 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design and the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Set Design for Steppenwolf Theatre Company's August: Osage County....
, costume design by Ana Kuzmanic, lighting design by Ann G. Wrightson, sound design by Richard Woodbury, original music by David Singer, dramaturgy by Edward Sobel, dialect coaching by Cecille O'Reilly, and fight choreography by Charles Coyl. Both productions were stage managed by Deb Styer, with Jane Grey joining the New York company.
August: Osage County made its UK debut at London's National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
in November 2008.
Additionally, a US National Tour was launched at Denver's Ellie Caulkins Opera House
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
The Ellie Caulkins Opera House, which opened on September 10, 2005, is located in Denver, Colorado as part of the large Denver Performing Arts Complex. It seats 2,225...
on 24 July 2009 with Estelle Parsons
Estelle Parsons
Estelle Margaret Parsons is an American theatre, film and television actress and occasional theatrical director.After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program Today and made her stage debut in 1961...
portraying the role as Violet. This production went on to tour throughout the country.
The play made its Israeli debut at the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv in January 2009 starring Gila Almagor
Gila Almagor
Gila Almagor is an Israeli actress, film star, and author.-Biography:Gila Almagor was born four months after the death of her father, Max Alexandrowitz, a Jewish immigrant from Germany who was killed by an Arab sniper while working as a policeman in Haifa...
.
Also, the play made its Puerto Rican debut at the Rene Marquez Theater Hall of the Luis A. Ferre Performing Arts Center
Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center
The Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center, or Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferré in Spanish, is a multi-use performance centre located Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. It features three main concert and theater halls for performing arts displays, including ballet, plays, operas and concerts, as...
in San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
in March 2009 starring Gladys Rodríguez
Gladys Rodríguez
Gladys Rodríguez born June 4, 1943 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, is an actress, comedian and television host.-Early years:Rodríguez was born in Santurce, a section of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Her parents moved to New York City when she was still a child. In New York, she received her...
.
It also was presented in Australia, at the Arts Centre Playhouse, Melbourne, produced by the Melbourne Theatre Company, and starring Robyn Nevin, from the 23 May to 27 June 2009.
The play had its German premiere in Mannheim at the Nationaltheater (31 October 2008) under the title "Eine Familie" (German for "A family"), directed by Burkhard C. Kosminski. The Austrian premiere in Vienna, in the Akademietheater from 31 October 2009 onwards was staged by the latvian director Alvis Hermanis and featured Kirsten Dene in the role of Violet Weston.
The play has been translated into Spanish and has premiered in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina at the Teatro Lola Membrives, starring Norma Aleandro
Norma Aleandro
Norma Aleandro Robledo is an Argentine actress and screenwriter, born in Buenos Aires to Pedro Aleandro and María Luisa Robledo, both actors. Her sister, María Vaner, was a famous actress in Argentina.- Life and career :...
and Mercedes Morán. It has been successfully running there for more than a year now, with frequent sold-outs.
The play made its Swedish debut at [Göteborg City Theatre] http://www.stadsteatern.goteborg.se/. Opening Night on 29 January 2010, starring Ann Petrén, and its Danish at the Betty Nansen
Betty Nansen
Betty Nansen was a Danish actress and theatre director of the theater that carries her name, the Betty Nansen Theatre....
Theatre in Copenhagen.
August is as well due to premiere in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
by mid-2010, at the Teatro El Galpón, after the success of the Argentinian production.
August was premiered on 29 April 2010 in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, at the Teatro La Plaza – Isil, starring Claudia Dammert.
The Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
opened a production in Sydney in conjunction with the Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Theatre Company
The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
in August 2010.
The New Zealand premiere of the play was presented by Auckland Theatre Company
Auckland Theatre Company
Auckland Theatre Company is the largest professional theatre company in Auckland, New Zealand. It was founded in 1992 following the bankruptcy of Mercury Theatre, Auckland's original professional theatre company which had been the largest subsidised company in the country.The current artistic...
in September 2010, starring Jennifer Ward-Lealand
Jennifer Ward-Lealand
Jennifer Ward-Lealand, ONZM, is a New Zealand actress who has appeared on many films and television shows such as The Ugly and Shortland Street as well as the Australian comedy series Full Frontal....
, Stuart Devenie
Stuart Devenie
Stuart Forbes Devenie is an actor and theatre director in New Zealand whose career spans three decades on stage and screen. He has performed in theatre productions nationally and internationally. In the 1980s, he was the Artistic Director of Centrepoint Theatre in Palmerston North and has been a...
and Nancy Brunning
Nancy Brunning
Nancy Brunning is an actress and director who has won awards in film and television and has made a major contribution to the growth of Māori in the arts. Her accolades include Best Actress awards on stage and screen. She won Best Actress at the NZ Film Awards for her lead role in the movie What...
and directed by Colin McColl. The Wellington production opened at Circa Theatre on 1 April 2011, with Jennifer Ludlam reprising the role of Violet.
The play had its national regional premiere on 9 September of 2010 in Albuquerque, NM with Fusion Theatre Company. According to the website for the company, the run for this production was completely sold out. The cast included professional and Tony-nominated actors such as Laurie Thomas and Joanne Camp, and directed by Gil Lazier. Review: http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/alb/alb15.html
The play had its Ohio regional and university premiere on 23 September of 2010 in a co-production of The Human Race Theatre Company
Human Race Theatre Company
The Human Race Theatre Company is the professional producing theatre company of Dayton Ohio, dedicated to producing works on universal themes that explore the human condition and startle us all into a renewed awareness of ourselves. The HRTC is located in The Metropolitan Arts Building in downtown...
and Wright State University
Wright State University
Wright State University is a comprehensive public university with strong doctoral, research, and undergraduate programs, rated among the 260 Best National Universities listed in the annual "America's Best Colleges" rankings by U.S. News and World Report. Wright State is located in Fairborn, Ohio,...
Theatre. The production was the first co-production of its kind for this play, combining seven professional actors with six students (EMC candidates) in WSU's BFA Acting program, and played to over four thousand during its three week run in the Robert and Elaine Stein Auditorium on the Wright State campus. This production featured Susanne Marley as Violet Weston, a role she had played in the Broadway production, as well as Rainbow Dickerson, also from the Broadway production, as well as six students from the WSU undergraduate theatre program.
The play has its Dutch premiere on 1 May 2011 at the Stadsschouwburg Utrecht (Utrecht City Theatre) by theatre company De Utrechtse Spelen. It will be directed by Antoine Uitdehaag and stars Tjitske Reidinga, Peter Blok, Ria Eimers and Tom de Ket. The Dutch title is Augustus: Oklahoma.
It made its Florida premiere at Florida Repertory Theatre Company in Fort Myers in March 2011. On April, 20th, 2011 8 pm the show will kick off at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
August: Osage County had its first college premiere at Western Illinois University on 20 April 2011. Due to a serious fall during its final week of rehearsal, the director had to step in for the lead and perform the role of Violet Weston.
In India, veteran theatre actor and director Lillete Dubey has directed a slightly adapted version of the play and has been touring with it in several Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. In the Indian version, while the name of the play and those of most characters remain the same, the narrative has been shifted to the Indian state of Goa. Many well-known Indian theatre and film actors have major roles in the play, with Dubey herself playing the role of Violet with Sandhya Mridul as Barbara, Kitu Gidwani as Mattie, Mita Vashisht as Karen and Suchitra Pillai as Ivy.
an adaptation of the play which
Original Chicago Cast
- Ian BarfordIan BarfordIan Barford is an American stage and television actor, born in Bloomington, Indiana.- Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre :*Endgame .... Hamm*Up *August: Osage County ......
* – Little Charles - Deanna DunaganDeanna DunaganDeanna Dunagan is a Chicago based American actress. Although Dunagan has appeared on television and in films, she is most admired for her work as a stage actress. She is best known for her Tony Award-winning portrayal of Violet Weston in Tracy Letts' August: Osage County.-Early life and...
– Violet Weston - Kimberly Guerrero—Johnna Monevata
- Francis GuinanFrancis GuinanFrancis V. Guinan, Jr. is an American film, television and stage actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Edgar Teller the patriarch in the short-lived NBC series Eerie, Indiana....
* – Charlie Aiken - Rick Snyder* – Steve Heidebrecht
- Dennis LettsDennis LettsDennis Letts was an American college professor and actor. Letts made his Broadway theater debut in December 2007 in the production of August: Osage County, which was written by his son, playwright Tracy Letts....
– Beverly Weston - Fawn Johnstin—Jean Fordham
- Mariann MayberryMariann MayberryMariann Mayberry is American television and stage actress.Mayberry has been an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois since 1993...
* – Karen Weston - Amy MortonAmy MortonAmy Morton is an American actress best known for her work in theatre. A member of Steppenwolf Theater's core group of actors since 1997, Morton has spent most of her career working in the Chicago theater scene. She made her Broadway debut starring opposite Gary Sinise as Nurse Ratched in the Tony...
* – Barbara Fordham - Sally Murphy* – Ivy Weston
- Jeff Perry* – Bill Fordham
- Rondi ReedRondi ReedRondi Reed is an American stage actress, singer and performer.-Career:Reed has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, Illinois, for 30 years, appearing in 51 productions with the company....
* – Mattie Fae Aiken - Troy West—Sheriff Deon Gilbeau
- Diane Dorsey—u/s Violet, Mattie Fae
- Robert E. Dennison—u/s Beverly, Charlie
- Patrice Egleston—u/s Barbara
- Lori Myers—u/s Ivy, Karen
- Peter Davis—u/s Bill, Steve, Sherriff Gilbeau
- Steven Marzolf—u/s Little Charles
- Sadieh Rifai—u/s Johnna
- Zanny Laird—u/s Jean
(*) Steppenwolf Ensemble Members
Original Broadway Cast
- Ian BarfordIan BarfordIan Barford is an American stage and television actor, born in Bloomington, Indiana.- Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre :*Endgame .... Hamm*Up *August: Osage County ......
* – Little Charles - Deanna DunaganDeanna DunaganDeanna Dunagan is a Chicago based American actress. Although Dunagan has appeared on television and in films, she is most admired for her work as a stage actress. She is best known for her Tony Award-winning portrayal of Violet Weston in Tracy Letts' August: Osage County.-Early life and...
– Violet Weston (succeeded during the run by Estelle ParsonsEstelle ParsonsEstelle Margaret Parsons is an American theatre, film and television actress and occasional theatrical director.After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program Today and made her stage debut in 1961...
and later Phylicia RashadPhylicia RashadPhylicia Rashād is an American Tony Award winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
) - Kimberly Guerrero—Johnna Monevata
- Francis GuinanFrancis GuinanFrancis V. Guinan, Jr. is an American film, television and stage actor who is perhaps best known for his role as Edgar Teller the patriarch in the short-lived NBC series Eerie, Indiana....
* – Charlie Aiken - Brian KerwinBrian KerwinBrian Kerwin is an American actor.Born in Chicago, Illinois, Kerwin won the Theatre World Award in 1988 for the off-Broadway play Emily. His Broadway theatre credits include the 1997 revival of The Little Foxes and the Elaine May comedy After the Night and the Music in 2005...
– Steve Heidebrecht - Dennis LettsDennis LettsDennis Letts was an American college professor and actor. Letts made his Broadway theater debut in December 2007 in the production of August: Osage County, which was written by his son, playwright Tracy Letts....
– Beverly Weston - Madeleine MartinMadeleine MartinMadeleine Elizabeth Martin plays the character Rebecca "Becca" Moody on Showtime comedy-drama Californication. She is a student at the School of American Ballet.-Career:...
– Jean Fordham - Mariann MayberryMariann MayberryMariann Mayberry is American television and stage actress.Mayberry has been an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois since 1993...
* – Karen Weston - Amy MortonAmy MortonAmy Morton is an American actress best known for her work in theatre. A member of Steppenwolf Theater's core group of actors since 1997, Morton has spent most of her career working in the Chicago theater scene. She made her Broadway debut starring opposite Gary Sinise as Nurse Ratched in the Tony...
* – Barbara Fordham - Sally Murphy* – Ivy Weston
- Jeff Perry* – Bill Fordham
- Rondi ReedRondi ReedRondi Reed is an American stage actress, singer and performer.-Career:Reed has been a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, Illinois, for 30 years, appearing in 51 productions with the company....
* – Mattie Fae Aiken (succeeded during the run by Elizabeth AshleyElizabeth AshleyElizabeth Ashley is an American actress who first came to prominence as the ingenue in the Broadway play Take Her, She's Mine, which earned her a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play.-Early life:...
) - Troy West—Sheriff Deon Gilbeau
- Munson Hicks—u/s Charles, Beverly
- Susane Marley—u/s Violet, Mattie Fae
- Jay Patterson—u/s Steve, Bill, Sherriff
- Dee Pelletier—u/s Barbara, Karen, Ivy
- Molly Ranson—u/s Jean
- Aaron Serotsky—u/s Little Charles, Sherriff
- Kristina Valada-Viars—u/s Johnna
(*) Steppenwolf Ensemble Member
Original London Cast
- Ian BarfordIan BarfordIan Barford is an American stage and television actor, born in Bloomington, Indiana.- Steppenwolf Downstairs Theatre :*Endgame .... Hamm*Up *August: Osage County ......
* – Little Charles - Deanna DunaganDeanna DunaganDeanna Dunagan is a Chicago based American actress. Although Dunagan has appeared on television and in films, she is most admired for her work as a stage actress. She is best known for her Tony Award-winning portrayal of Violet Weston in Tracy Letts' August: Osage County.-Early life and...
– Violet Weston - Kimberly Guerrero—Johnna Monevata
- Paul Vincent O'Connor—Charlie Aiken
- Gary ColeGary ColeGary Michael Cole is an American actor. Cole is known for his supporting roles in numerous film and television productions since the 1990s.-Early life:...
* – Steve Heidebrecht - Chelsie Ross—Beverly Weston
- Molly Ranson—Jean Fordham
- Mariann MayberryMariann MayberryMariann Mayberry is American television and stage actress.Mayberry has been an ensemble member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois since 1993...
* – Karen Weston - Amy MortonAmy MortonAmy Morton is an American actress best known for her work in theatre. A member of Steppenwolf Theater's core group of actors since 1997, Morton has spent most of her career working in the Chicago theater scene. She made her Broadway debut starring opposite Gary Sinise as Nurse Ratched in the Tony...
* – Barbara Fordham - Sally Murphy* – Ivy Weston
- Jeff Perry* – Bill Fordham
- Rondi Reed* – Mattie Fae Aiken
- Troy West—Sheriff Deon Gilbeau
- Morgan Deare—u/s Charlie, Beverly
- Anne Kavanagh—u/s Violet, Mattie Fae
- Mitchell Mullen—u/s Steve, Bill
- Lizzie Roper—u/s Karen, Ivy
- Sarah Van der Pol—u/s Jean, Johnna
- Ian PorterIan Porter (actor)Ian Porter is an American actor now living in the UK. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was only 1 year old. He lived in Torrance, California until he graduated from Long Beach State University...
—u/s Little Charles, Sherriff - Elizabeth Moynihan—u/s Barbara
(*) Steppenwolf Ensemble Member
Film adaptation
Harvey Weinstein
Harvey Weinstein, CBE is an American film producer and movie studio chairman. He is best known as co-founder of Miramax Films. He and his brother Bob have been co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company, their film production company, since 2005...
and Jean Doumanian
Jean Doumanian
Jean Doumanian is an American producer.Doumanian is probably most well known for her short reign as producer of Saturday Night Live between November 1980 and March 1981...
. The film, to be produced and distributed by The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company
The Weinstein Company is an American film studio founded by Bob and Harvey Weinstein in 2005 after the brothers left the then-Disney-owned Miramax Films, which they had co-founded in 1979...
, will be directed by television veteran John Wells
John Wells (TV producer)
John Marcum Wells is an American theater and television producer, writer and director. He is best known for his role as executive producer and show runner of the television series ER, Third Watch, and The West Wing. His company, John Wells Productions, is currently based at Warner Bros. studios in...
. Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
and Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
were in talks to star as of September 2010.
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 2007 Jeff Award (Chicago) for Best New Work – Play
- 2007 Jeff Award (Chicago) for Best Production – Play
- 2008 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Best New Play - 2008 Drama League AwardDrama League AwardThe Drama League Awards, created in 1935, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing...
for Distinguished Production of a Play - 2008 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play
- 2008 Outer Critics Circle AwardOuter Critics Circle AwardThe Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
for Outstanding New Broadway Play - 2008 Pulitzer Prize for DramaPulitzer Prize for DramaThe Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
- 2008 Tony Award for Best PlayTony Award for Best PlayThe Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year...
- 2009 Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Even with a run time of three and a half hours, Tracy Letts' 2007 drama of Southern-fried familial dysfunction went by in one lightning-fast jolt of pure theatrical electricity."
Origins of the Play's Name
The play is named after a poem written by Howard StarksHoward Starks
Howard Vernon Starks was born December 7, 1929, in Shidler, Oklahoma. He later graduated high school in Fittstown, Oklahoma and served in the U.S. Army before earning a B.A. in education from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma...
. Of this, Tracy Letts has stated, "I could never come up with a title as brilliant as 'August: Osage County.' Mr. Howard Starks, gentleman, teacher, poet, genius, mentor, friend, created that title for an extraordinary poem that is one of the inspirations for my play. I steal the title with deference, yet without apology – Howard, I'm sure, would have it no other way – and I dedicate this play to his memory."
External links
- August: Osage County official website
- Steppenwolf official website
- Critical Review of the London Show 9 January 2009
- New York Times review 5 December 2007
- Curtain Call By Blake Wilson
- Video of Howard StarksHoward StarksHoward Vernon Starks was born December 7, 1929, in Shidler, Oklahoma. He later graduated high school in Fittstown, Oklahoma and served in the U.S. Army before earning a B.A. in education from East Central State College in Ada, Oklahoma...
reading the poem from which the play's name is derived