August: Osage County also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2008. The show has traveled the world and made into a film in 2013 with Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Chris Cooper, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The film was nominated for 2 Golden Globes and 2 Academy Awards.
Is “August Osage County” a good play?
“August: Osage County” marks one of the great stage plays of the 21st century, so one cannot help but be a little underwhelmed with Wells’ merely workmanlike film adaptation.
What happens in August Osage County by Tracy Letts?
A family is forced to confront its past and present. August: Osage County is a tragicomedy 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 June 28, 2007, and closed on August 26, 2007.
Who are the actors in August Osage County?
The UMass Theatre Guild of University of Massachusetts Amherst premiered an entirely student-run production of August: Osage County on April 9, 2015. Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble members Rondi Reed (left) and Amy Morton in the original Chicago cast of August: Osage County.
When did the movie Osage County come out?
August: Osage County premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2013, and was released in the United States on December 27, 2013. A modest commercial success, the film received mixed reviews from critics.
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Did the movie Osage County win any awards?
August: Osage County is a 2013 American tragicomedy film directed by John Wells. It was written by Tracy Letts and based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning 2007 play of the same name....August: Osage County (film)August: Osage CountyProduced byGeorge Clooney Grant Heslov Jean Doumanian Steve Traxler16 more rows
Did August: Osage County win Academy Awards?
August: Osage County is a 2013 American black comedy-drama film written by Tracy Letts and based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning play by the same name....August: Osage CountyStarringJulia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper86th Academy Awards6 more rows
Is August: Osage County a true story?
The story of August: Osage County came from his own experience, Letts says. In fact, his actor father, Dennis Letts, played the role of the grandfather on stage. "It's based on family history," Tracy Letts tells NPR's Scott Simon. "My grandfather — my mother's father — committed suicide when I was 10 years old."Jan 11, 2014
How old was Meryl Streep in Osage County?
Meryl Streep really can do anything, it would seem. She provided actress Abigail Breslin with a sweet keepsake from “August: Osage County.” “Meryl gave me a little drawing that she drew of my character at the end of filming. I kept that, for sure,” the 17-year-old actress said during a recent phone call.Jan 17, 2014
Is Julia Roberts pregnant in August: Osage County?
The "August: Osage County" actress addressed pregnancy rumors during "Late Night" appearance. Julia Roberts is not pregnant, and doesn't plan to ever be pregnant again. The August: Osage County star put pregnancy rumors to rest during an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman Thursday.Dec 13, 2013
How old is Violet in August: Osage County?
He mysteriously disappears after the prologue. VIOLET WESTON: Sixty-five years old. Violet is brash, abrasive, deeply concerned in the private lives of her kin, and is very addicted to pills. She is never afraid to speak her mind, yet shows immense vulnerability when she is alone.
Is Julianne Nicholson related to Julia Roberts?
It has taken Julianne Nicholson just 17 years to become an overnight success. Until landing the role of Meryl Streep's daughter and Julia Roberts' sister in August: Osage County, Nicholson, 42, paid her bills through steady TV but unflashy work on shows like Boardwalk Empire, Ally McBeal).Feb 14, 2014
Where is the house from August: Osage County?
PawhuskaA HISTORIC FILMING LOCATION: THE BOULANGER HOME One of the film locations of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is the hundred-year-old Boulanger home, located on 22 acres in Boulanger north of Pawhuska.Aug 28, 2012
What happened to Barbara in August: Osage County?
On Broadway, after a climactic mother-daughter confrontation, Barbara exits, leaving her mother on stage to be comforted by Native American maid Johnna.Sep 11, 2013
Did Meryl Streep shave her head for August: Osage County?
Streep is clearly one of the great actresses of our time, but as family matriarch Violet, she overcommits to being drug-addled, vindictive and downright mean. To play the role, Streep shaved her head and donned a big, black wig — a typical change in physical appearance that smells of Oscar ambition.Jan 9, 2014
Was August: Osage County filmed in Oklahoma?
The Meryl Streep-Julia Roberts movie "August: Osage County" was filmed on location at this 100-year old farmhouse in Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
Did Meryl Streep cut her hair for August: Osage County?
Her hair is kind of a mess in "August: Osage County," but it's a wig, so that doesn't really count. (Although one could argue that it is as fake as the graciousness she offers visitors to her home for her husband's funeral, at least for as long as she can muster it.)Aug 13, 2014
Characters
The father of the Weston family, aged 69, an alcoholic and washed-up poet. His mysterious disappearance one evening and eventually discovered death are the reasons for the family's reunion. The reasons for his implied suicide are a major plot point that bring some of the family's dark past painfully back into the light.
Productions
The show was originally produced on August 12, 2007 by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company at the Downstairs Theatre in Chicago. The Broadway production began previews on October 30, 2007, at the Imperial Theatre only days before the 2007 Broadway stagehand strike on November 10 which temporarily closed most shows.
Cast
Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble members Rondi Reed (left) and Amy Morton in the original Chicago cast of August: Osage County.
Origins of the play's name
The play is named after a poem written by Howard Starks. Of this, Tracy Letts has stated,
Plot
The title designates time and location: an unusually hot August in a rural area outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
Production
John Wells directed, while George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Jean Doumanian, and Steve Traxler produced the film. Renée Zellweger and Andrea Riseborough were considered for a role. Riseborough was cast but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Juliette Lewis replaced her. Chloë Grace Moretz also auditioned for the role of Jean Fordham.
Release
August: Osage County premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2013, before its release in select cities on December 27, 2013, followed by a wide release on January 10, 2014, in the United States. It was also released on January 1, 2014, in Australia.
Soundtrack
Gustavo Santaolalla composed the original music for August: Osage County. The soundtrack was released on January 7, 2014 through Sony Classical.
Overview
August: Osage County is a tragicomedy 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 June 28, 2007, and closed on August 26, 2007. It had its Broadway debut at the Imperial Theater on December 4, 2007, and the production transferred to the Music Box Theatre on April 29, 2008. The Broadway show clo…
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, Oklahoma.
Prologue The play opens with Beverly Weston, a once-famous poet, interviewing Johnna, a young Cheyenne woman, for a position as live-in cook and caregiver for his wife Violet, who is being treated for mouth cancer due to heavy cigarette use for most of her life. Violet is a heavy drinke…
Characters
Beverly Weston The father of the Weston family, aged 69, an alcoholic and washed-up poet. His mysterious disappearance one evening and eventually discovered death are the reasons for the family's reunion. The reasons for his implied suicide are a major plot point that bring some of the family's dark past painfully back into the light. Violet Weston The mother of the Weston family, aged 65. Undergoing treatment for oral cancer, she is addicted to several prescription drugs, mo…
Productions
The show was originally produced on August 12, 2007, by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company at the Downstairs Theatre in Chicago. The Broadway production began previews on October 30, 2007, at the Imperial Theatre only days before the 2007 Broadway stagehand strike on November 10 which temporarily closed most shows. The strike continued through the official opening date of November 20, forcing the show to reschedule its December 4 opening. The Broadway productio…
Cast
• Ian Barford* – Little Charles
• Deanna Dunagan – Violet Weston
• Kimberly Guerrero—Johnna Monevata
• Francis Guinan* – Charlie Aiken
Origins of the play's name
The play is named after a poem written by Howard Starks. 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."
Further reading
• Letts, Tracy (2008). August: Osage County. London: Nick Hern Books. ISBN 978-1-84842-025-0.
External links
• August: Osage County official website
• August: Osage County Broadway Show Page
• August: Osage County at the Internet Broadway Database
• August: Osage County at the Playbill Vault