There are not many plays that can claim to be intelligently written and smartly crafted so that they are constantly and consistently engaging and interesting without also being, at times, over the audience's heads. It's a difficult line to walk, and with August: Osage County, Tracy Letts manages brilliantly.
The Tony award-winning play about a family reunited under less than ideal circumstances, which is currently running at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul, MN, is a skillful blend of comedy and drama. It tackles sensitive issues without apology and walks the line between a realistic portrayal of what could be any family and edging into that place just beyond reality where everything is a little bit heightened. It is familiar and truthful enough for the audience to identify with situations and characters while taking a step just beyond to where they can comfortably think, ‘thank goodness that's not exactly what my family is like...mostly.' And yet, in the end, characters and plotlines are relatable, sympathetic, and heartbreakingly authentic.
Letts also manages to introduce a variety of characters with distinct personalities, giving each one a moment to take center stage so that the audience can get to know them. Relationships, quirks, and the intricacies of family dynamics are the meat of this production, and each one is treated with the respect it deserves. While some characters are more on the fringe of the story than others, even they are given the opportunity to reveal, bit by bit, who they are and how their presence in this family impacts everyone else.
Most notable, though, is the plot's structure. Rather than following a traditional configuration wherein the conflict is revealed quickly and the rest of the play is spent resolving it, Letts has chosen an alternate format. Instead, characters and plot crimps are revealed slowly, with discord arising in little pockets as each new member of the family appears. Twenty minutes before the play's end, the audience may wonder how resolution can possibly be found in the remaining time, and the answer to that question reflects reality: it can't. It isn't. The questions raised as each character's individual struggles are introduced are only heightened further at the end of the evening. And yet, this ending is not unsatisfying. There's no need to see what happens next, because that's not what this play is about. By highlighting the themes that play out during its three acts rather than the stories themselves, the plot's actual resolution is rendered unimportant compared to everything else that the audience has experienced.
In this production, the powerful writing is accompanied by stellar acting. In particular, Shannon Cochran shines as eldest daughter Barbara, bringing both spot-on comedic timing and dramatic range to her character. Estelle Parsons' portrayal of the broken but staunch and acerbic matriarch Violet Weston is commanding and emotional, both off-putting and sympathetic at once. Other standouts include Jeff Still, who manages to make Barbara's adulterous husband, Bill, endearing and likeable; Libby George as Violet's sister Mattie Fae, brings melodramatic showiness to the family, and manages to be both a support to her sister and clearly torn about her involvement in family affairs; and Paul Vincent O'Connor as Mattie Fae's easygoing and compassionate husband Charlie.
The rest of the cast, including Jon DeVries, Angelica Torn, Amy Warren, Emily Kinney, DeLanna Studi, Laurence Lau, Steve Key, and Marcus Nelson, proves that no character is too small to have depth and that great writing is most fully brought to life by purposeful and lively acting. In addition, the beautiful set design by Todd Rosenthal and costumes by Ana Kuzmanic underscore the complexity of The Situation and the characters without ever upstaging the material itself.
There are a few moments of weakness in this production. Some of the more physical scenes are a bit uncoordinated, and a few of the actors' inconsistent accents are, at times, distracting. But these complaints are both minimal and, in the grand scheme of being able to enjoy the production, fairly unimportant. It is, in the end, an engaging and enjoyable evening of theatre, featuring thought-provoking material and memorable performances all around.
