“August: Osage County” Is an Explosion of Family Dysfunction Oct. 28-Nov. 13

A vanished father. A pill-popping mother. Three sisters harboring shady little secrets. When the dysfunctional Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, their Oklahoma family homestead explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths and unsettling secrets.

Mix in Violet, the drugged-up, scathingly acidic matriarch, and you’ve got a story that unflinchingly—and uproariously—exposes the dark side of the Midwestern American family.

Brace yourselves for an unforgettable theatre experience as the Chattanooga Theatre Centre presents AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY from Friday, October 28, to Sunday, November 13. Tracy Letts’ exceptionally intense, ferociously entertaining play won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award.

Said the New York Times of the play, “I’d bet the farm that no family has ever been as unhappy in as many ways—and to such sensationally entertaining effect—as the Westons of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, a fraught, densely plotted saga of an Oklahoma clan in a state of near-apocalyptic meltdown. Fiercely funny and bitingly sad…[a] turbo-charged tragicomedy.”

The play won five Broadway Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Actress, and Best Featured Actress, which tells the story of how magnificently the roles are written.

Says guest director Suzanne Smartt, “Violet Weston is right up there and has been counted as one of the greatest roles ever written – being compared to King Lear for range, scope, and savagery of character.  In that scope, Violet Weston is a bellowing Lear equivalent, rampaging over the family, presiding over dark secrets, terrorizing all as she blasts her way through lives and the dear hearts of those who try to love her.”

With Wendy Tippens appearing in the role of Violet, the powerful ensemble cast also includes April Bolton, Jay Echols, Tracy Hoffman, Rob Inman, Becki Jordan, Stan Lane, Ashley Larsen-Ratchford, James Lawson, Joanna Lewis, Jamie Lopez, Christian Smith, and Lilly Wright.

Rodney Strong and Sadie Collins are the stage managers.

Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 7 p.m.

Note that the show has extremely mature language and mature situations appropriate for mature audiences only. Audience discretion is advised.

For tickets, call the CTC box office at 423.267.8534 or visit TheatreCentre.com.

For director Suzanne Smartt’s insights about the play, CLICK HERE.

Posted October 18, 2022