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August: Osage County

Presented by Playhouse on the Square at Playhouse on the Square

March 11-April 3, 2011

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One of the most critically acclaimed plays in Broadway history, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is a portrait of the dysfunctional American family at its finest – and absolute worst. When the patriarch of the Weston clan disappears, the family reunites at the Oklahoma homestead, where long-held secrets are unflinchingly and uproariously revealed. The New York Times declares that this “fiercely funny, turbo-charged tragicomedy is, flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play in years.” Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and 5 2008 Tony Awards.

• At-a-
  Glance

  • Venue Info

    Playhouse on the Square

    66 South Cooper
    Memphis, TN 38104

    Full map and directions

  • Admission Info

    Tickets:

    $33 - Adults $20 - Students, Seniors, Military $10 - Children $20 - All Tickets Opening Weekend

    Info Phone: 901-726-4656

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  • Dates & Times

    Dates:
    March 11-April 3, 2011

    Times:
    

    Thursday-Saturday at 7:00pm, Sunday at 2:00pm

  • Accessibility Info

    

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  • Member Reviews

    Add review/comment

    • Event Name: August: Osage County
      "Looking for Love in “August: Osage County”"
      Comment posted by: George Conroy ArtsMemphis Rants & Raver from Memphis, TN, Mar 13, 2011
      

      Irene Crist makes a magnificent entrance in the Playhouse on the Square’s new production of August: Osage County. Perilously close to tumbling down a long set of stairs on an enormous set, she... Expand

      Irene Crist makes a magnificent entrance in the Playhouse on the Square’s new production of August: Osage County. Perilously close to tumbling down a long set of stairs on an enormous set, she wobbles and can barely be understood through a drug-hazed slur of words. But fear not. This gifted actress grabs the stage, never minces words, and never lets go. Meet Violet Weston, matriarch of an Oklahoma clan all alive for the moment if not too well, living in their own version of dysfunction junction. Playwright Tracy Letts crafted a work of genius with this three-act monster of modern theatre, and it’s a fine sprawling saga that won a Pulitzer Prize and Tony for best play in 2008. Playhouse’s Robert Satterlee who directed Frost-Nixon last season has managed to take this great script and a massive cast and make everyone shine. Especially Ms. Crist during the opening minutes of Act I. She starts at the top of those stairs and continues at the top of her game for three hours, portraying perfectly the pill-popping matriarch. But wait ‘til Act II. Just wait ‘til the opening minutes of Act II. In a small and charming opening monologue by Jim Palmer, the paterfamilias is happily plastered on Jim Beam as he muses to a young housekeeper applicant (played by Carla Oliver) in an Okie drawl about life and his love of booze. She’s being hired as cook and bottle-washer, for Mr. Beverley Weston is at the end of his alcoholic patience in dealing with his wacked-out wife. When Bev then pulls a vanishing act, the couple’s three grown daughters and Vi’s brassy sister arrive with lots of baggage — most of it male. Here’s where August: Osage County really takes off with an increasingly crowded stew of spicy relationships, and it’s a mark of the play’s power that no matter how many crazies and crises are tossed into the mix, there isn’t a dull moment across the three wordy but fast-paced acts. Ann Marie Hall devours her role as Violet’s sister, brassy and bossy and never without a backhanded cutting remark for her ineffectual husband (a charmingly benign character played by veteran Dave Landis with his usual Thespian perfection) or a cruel dig at her feckless son “Little Charlie” played by Ed Porter. So far this is a wonderful show. It gets even better as the grown-up kids prove the next generation just as screwed up as Bev and Vi. The Weston gals would rather not be stuck out in the middle of nowhere in this big country manse (the Mark Guirguis’s set is a towering marvel of nooks, crannies, clutter and stairs, ingenuously crafted to adjust to the seemingly myriad venues required on stage.) Kim Justis portrays the eldest sister with a barely controlled rage that only grows worse as the failures of her own life collide with memories of growing up with monstrous Mom. Michael Detroit – the versatile POTS veteran who has never met a role he didn’t conquer with aplomb - quietly plays her philandering, philosophical husband and Jean Fordham is their mischievous pot-smoking teenage daughter. Leah Bray Nichols makes the middle daughter a squirmingly uncertain bundle of self-doubt created by the bitchy way Vi has of pick, pick, picking at every flawed thread in the mess of her meaningless life. The only genuine love expressed at the Weston’s is between a brother and sister who are thought to be cousins. Last to arrive, Laura Stracko plays the very pretty youngest daughter who conveys a smart sense of young love and yet a wise beyond her years maturity. She arrives with the slick Florida shyster she’s dumb enough to fall for, and Michael Gravois’ easy way with conveying the sleaze in this creep is icing on the cake. OK, remember above I wrote, “But wait ‘til Act II. Just wait ‘til the opening minutes of Act II?” That’s because if the opening minutes of Act I introduced the dramatic gifts of Irene Crist, the opening minutes of Act II introduce Laura Stracko who will bowl you over with her flair and acting genius. She carries the first part of the act with a dialogue, really quite a soliloquy, that’s lively, energetic, spirited, sparkling, and captivating. And this young actress is never ever out of character. Like Carla Oliver who is trapped in her character’s domestic duties, we see too little of Sam Weakley as the sheriff. He does, however, have some secrets of his own. This entertaining show is a baker’s dozen of some of the best talent in town all fully embroiled in a hugely satisfying spectacle — big chaotic scenes at the dinner table, sometimes sweet or other times snarly and all of it linked together in a compelling web of drama and comedy. Wonderful drama plus a lot of laughs. August: Osage County at Playhouse is a must-see for everyone who loves with big theatre, often politically incorrect and always irreverent. If it were a TV program the disclaimer would be “Adult Content” and “Adult Language.” Go for it! Director Saterlee’s sure hand extends to taking this absolute orgy of juicy moments and making a long evening of theatre (with an 7 o’clock curtain you’re not out until after ten) fly by. Collapse

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    Currently, additional images/videos have not been submitted for this event.

• Member
  Reviews

  • Member Reviews

    Add review/comment

    • Event Name: August: Osage County
      "Looking for Love in “August: Osage County”"
      Comment posted by: George Conroy ArtsMemphis Rants & Raver from Memphis, TN, Mar 13, 2011
      

      Irene Crist makes a magnificent entrance in the Playhouse on the Square’s new production of August: Osage County. Perilously close to tumbling down a long set of stairs on an enormous set, she... Expand

      Irene Crist makes a magnificent entrance in the Playhouse on the Square’s new production of August: Osage County. Perilously close to tumbling down a long set of stairs on an enormous set, she wobbles and can barely be understood through a drug-hazed slur of words. But fear not. This gifted actress grabs the stage, never minces words, and never lets go. Meet Violet Weston, matriarch of an Oklahoma clan all alive for the moment if not too well, living in their own version of dysfunction junction. Playwright Tracy Letts crafted a work of genius with this three-act monster of modern theatre, and it’s a fine sprawling saga that won a Pulitzer Prize and Tony for best play in 2008. Playhouse’s Robert Satterlee who directed Frost-Nixon last season has managed to take this great script and a massive cast and make everyone shine. Especially Ms. Crist during the opening minutes of Act I. She starts at the top of those stairs and continues at the top of her game for three hours, portraying perfectly the pill-popping matriarch. But wait ‘til Act II. Just wait ‘til the opening minutes of Act II. In a small and charming opening monologue by Jim Palmer, the paterfamilias is happily plastered on Jim Beam as he muses to a young housekeeper applicant (played by Carla Oliver) in an Okie drawl about life and his love of booze. She’s being hired as cook and bottle-washer, for Mr. Beverley Weston is at the end of his alcoholic patience in dealing with his wacked-out wife. When Bev then pulls a vanishing act, the couple’s three grown daughters and Vi’s brassy sister arrive with lots of baggage — most of it male. Here’s where August: Osage County really takes off with an increasingly crowded stew of spicy relationships, and it’s a mark of the play’s power that no matter how many crazies and crises are tossed into the mix, there isn’t a dull moment across the three wordy but fast-paced acts. Ann Marie Hall devours her role as Violet’s sister, brassy and bossy and never without a backhanded cutting remark for her ineffectual husband (a charmingly benign character played by veteran Dave Landis with his usual Thespian perfection) or a cruel dig at her feckless son “Little Charlie” played by Ed Porter. So far this is a wonderful show. It gets even better as the grown-up kids prove the next generation just as screwed up as Bev and Vi. The Weston gals would rather not be stuck out in the middle of nowhere in this big country manse (the Mark Guirguis’s set is a towering marvel of nooks, crannies, clutter and stairs, ingenuously crafted to adjust to the seemingly myriad venues required on stage.) Kim Justis portrays the eldest sister with a barely controlled rage that only grows worse as the failures of her own life collide with memories of growing up with monstrous Mom. Michael Detroit – the versatile POTS veteran who has never met a role he didn’t conquer with aplomb - quietly plays her philandering, philosophical husband and Jean Fordham is their mischievous pot-smoking teenage daughter. Leah Bray Nichols makes the middle daughter a squirmingly uncertain bundle of self-doubt created by the bitchy way Vi has of pick, pick, picking at every flawed thread in the mess of her meaningless life. The only genuine love expressed at the Weston’s is between a brother and sister who are thought to be cousins. Last to arrive, Laura Stracko plays the very pretty youngest daughter who conveys a smart sense of young love and yet a wise beyond her years maturity. She arrives with the slick Florida shyster she’s dumb enough to fall for, and Michael Gravois’ easy way with conveying the sleaze in this creep is icing on the cake. OK, remember above I wrote, “But wait ‘til Act II. Just wait ‘til the opening minutes of Act II?” That’s because if the opening minutes of Act I introduced the dramatic gifts of Irene Crist, the opening minutes of Act II introduce Laura Stracko who will bowl you over with her flair and acting genius. She carries the first part of the act with a dialogue, really quite a soliloquy, that’s lively, energetic, spirited, sparkling, and captivating. And this young actress is never ever out of character. Like Carla Oliver who is trapped in her character’s domestic duties, we see too little of Sam Weakley as the sheriff. He does, however, have some secrets of his own. This entertaining show is a baker’s dozen of some of the best talent in town all fully embroiled in a hugely satisfying spectacle — big chaotic scenes at the dinner table, sometimes sweet or other times snarly and all of it linked together in a compelling web of drama and comedy. Wonderful drama plus a lot of laughs. August: Osage County at Playhouse is a must-see for everyone who loves with big theatre, often politically incorrect and always irreverent. If it were a TV program the disclaimer would be “Adult Content” and “Adult Language.” Go for it! Director Saterlee’s sure hand extends to taking this absolute orgy of juicy moments and making a long evening of theatre (with an 7 o’clock curtain you’re not out until after ten) fly by. Collapse

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  Reviews

  • Media Reviews

    There are currently no media reviews for this event.

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