August, Osage County cast members Front row: Debra McGuire, Gil Rambach and Paul Briggs. Middle row: James Diggs, Christopher Wallace, Addyson Crooks, Tess Jones, Chelsea Clough and Brianna Johnson. Top row: Sharon Herz, Steve Hazzard and Greg Minahan. Not pictured: Kathy Jones.
Church Hill Theatre is delighted to confirm its September production of August, Osage County by Tracy Letts. One of the best American plays of the 21st century, a 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner, and an Oscar nominated film starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, the CHT revival promises to be a highpoint of the cultural season.
Director Shelagh Grasso will create the claustrophobic intensity of a dysfunctional Oklahoma family with a stellar cast and crew in the September 13-29 production. The play is often funny, but the comedy is dark, and the Weston family’s secrets are deeply held and searingly painful. This is not a play for children or young teens.
The family patriarch, the noted poet Bev Weston (Greg Minahan), is missing and his pill-addicted wife Violet (Kathy Jones) expects her three daughters to suspend their own lives and come to her aid. Violet’s sister Mattie Fay (Debra McGuire) and brother-in-law Charlie Aiken (Gil Rambach) are around but don’t have much to offer in the way of support.
The daughters have problems of their own. Barbera (Tess Jones) and Bill Fordham (Christopher Wallace) are headed toward divorce and worried that the discord has affected their daughter Jean (Addyson Crooks). Karen (Sharon Herz), who bounces from one bad relationship to another, has decided that less-than-perfect Steve (Steve Hazzard) is the man of her dreams. Spinster Ivy (Chelsea Clough), who lives nearby and resents her caretaker role, plans to flee to New York City with her cousin Little Charles Aiken (Paul Briggs).
Before disappearing, Bev had hired a Cheyenne woman to cook, clean and take Violet to medical appointments. Johnna Monevata (Brianna Johnson) watches over the house with quiet care. An old friend of Barbara’s, Sheriff Deon Gilbeau (James Diggs), brings critical information.
August: Osage County opens on Friday, September 9 and runs for three weekends, ending on Sunday, September 29. Tickets will be available on the CHT website: churchhilltheatre.org or through the box office at (410) 556-6003.
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