August: Osage County Opens at Church Hill Theatre – September 13, 2024

August: Osage County, by Tracy Letts, swept all the major awards when it opened on Broadway in 2008, winning the Pulitzer Prize as well as multiple Tonys, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and other awards. The 2013 film version was a critical success, with both Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts nominated for Academy Awards. The Church Hill Theatre revival, directed by Shelagh Grasso, promises to be the dramatic highlight of the season.

Although a comedy, ranging from snarky one-liners to belly-laugh physical humor, this is not frivolous entertainment. The play covers several weeks in the life of the Westons, an outwardly normal and successful Oklahoma family. But inside the sprawling country house, their dysfunctional rot is spreading. Too many secrets. Too many pills and too much booze. Too much abuse. And too damn hot. And that’s just setting the scene for the real action.

When the noted poet Beverly Weston goes missing, his wife, three daughters and other family members gather as the search for him continues. Bev’s wife Violet, in treatment for cancer, needs their support but not as much as she needs to prove who’s in charge. Her cruelty and sharp tongue soon inflict more pain and revenge than she might have intended.

The audience gets to watch the disintegration in horrified suspense, maybe finding flickers of similar experiences or guilty memories of their own. In his rave New York Times review, Christopher Isherwood called August: Osage County “…flat-out, no asterisks and without qualifications, the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years. Fiercely funny and bitingly sad…”

Carmelo Grasso and his team have constructed a set that amplifies the pressure cooker relationships: nobody has quite enough room to breathe, much less protect secrets. There are no small parts in this play and all actors present full, essential and complete versions of their characters.

Kathy Jones, playing the matriarch Violet, moves effortlessly from real vulnerability to full- force attack mode. While the poet Beverly Weston appears only briefly, Greg Minihan’s portrayal shadows the entire production.

The three Weston daughters have all attempted to escape the toxicity of their childhood home. The oldest, Barbara, thought she had found safety in marriage, motherhood and a teaching career in Colorado with her husband Bill and daughter Jean. They should have known better. Tess Jones and Christopher Wallace bring exceptional chemistry to a tight but failing relationship. Addyson Crooks is sadly believable as yet another victim of the family discord.

Karen attempted to change her fate by breaking contact and having lots of fun without any real commitments. Sharon Herz is hilarious, and deeply sad, as this discarded child. Her sleazy fiancé Steve Heidebrecht, played by Steve Hazzard, doesn’t seem affected by the Weston malaise but he is not welcome—and ultimately is forced out.

Ivy is the good girl, the daughter who stays near home to care for her parents…until she isn’t. Chelsea Clough’s Ivy plays the long game, one she intends to have a happy ending. Well, she isn’t a fortune teller.

Violet’s sister Mattie Fae Akin and her family (husband Charlie and son Little Charles) live not that far away but haven’t visited in two years. The sisters share a lot of painful history and Bev and Charlie were once good friends.

Still, secrets fester and, hey, why does Mattie Fae always diss her son?

Debra McGuire and Gil Rambach have lots of the best comedic lines in the show and are utterly believable as a close, but squabble-prone, couple. Paul Briggs brings real depth to Little Charles, a man who has finally gotten, he thinks, what he wants.

Shortly before disappearing, Bev Weston hires Johnna Monevata, a Cheyenne woman, to oversee the household and assist Violet. She is largely ignored by the family but almost always visible in the house. Brianna Johnson plays her as a stoic observer, not judging, but protective of her charges.

The local sheriff, Deon Gilbeau, is an old high school friend of Barbara. James Diggs plays him with dignity and compassion.

August: Osage County opens on Friday, September 13 and runs through Sunday, September 29, with performances at 7:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 pm on Sundays. While suitable for most teens, this show with strong language and strong themes is not recommended for younger children. Tickets are available through the CHT website: www.churchhilltheare.org.

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