August: Osage County

by Tracy Letts

Winner of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama

A tremendous achievement in American playwriting: a tragicomic populist portrait of a tough land and a tougher people. "Time Out New York"

Tracy Letts "August: Osage County" is what O Neill would be writing in 2007. Letts has recaptured the nobility of American drama s mid-century heyday while still creating something entirely original. "New York" magazine

One of the most bracing and critically acclaimed plays in recent Broadway history, "August: Osage County" is a portrait of the dysfunctional American family at its finest and absolute worst. When the patriarch of the Weston clan disappears one hot summer night, the family reunites at the Oklahoma homestead, where long-held secrets are unflinchingly and uproariously revealed. The three-act, three-and-a-half-hour mammoth of a play combines epic tragedy with black comedy, dramatizing three generations of unfulfilled dreams and leaving not one of its thirteen characters unscathed. After its sold-out Chicago premiere, the play has electrified audiences in New York since its opening in November 2007.

Tracy Letts is the author of "Killer Joe," "Bug," and "Man from Nebraska," which was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His plays have been performed throughout the country and internationally. A performer as well as a playwright, Letts is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where "August: Osage County" premiered."

Genres: Plays, Drama, Fiction, Theatre, Family, Contemporary, American

152 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

Tracy Letts is an American playwright and actor who received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County.

Letts was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to best-selling author Billie Letts, of Where The Heart Is and The Honk And Holler Opening Soon fame, and the late college professor and actor Dennis Letts. His brother Shawn is a jazz musician and composer. He also has a brother Dana. Letts was raised in Durant, Oklahoma and graduated from Durant High School in the early 1980s. He moved to Dallas, where he waited tables and worked in telemarketing while starting as an actor. He acted in Jerry Flemmons' O Dammit!, which was part of a new playwrights series sponsored by Southern Methodist University.

Letts moved to Chicago at the age of 20, and worked for the next 11 years at Steppenwolf and Famous Door. He's still an active member of the Steppenwolf company today. He was a founding member of Bang Bang Spontaneous Theater, whose members included Greg Kotis (Tony Award-winner for Urinetown), Michael Shannon (Academy Award-nominee for Revolutionary Road), Paul Dillon, and Amy Pietz. In 1991, Letts wrote the play Killer Joe. Two years later, the play premiered at the Next Lab Theater in Chicago, followed by the 29th Street Rep in NYC. Since then, Killer Joe has been performed in at least 15 countries in 12 languages.

In 2008, Letts won a Tony and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for August: Osage County. It had premiered in Chicago in 2007, before moving to New York. It opened on Broadway in 2007 and ran into 2009.

His mother Billie Letts has said of his writing, "I try to be upbeat and funny. Everybody in Tracy's stories gets naked or dead." Letts' plays have been about people struggling with moral and spiritual questions. He says he was inspired by the plays of Tennessee Williams and the novels of William Faulkner and Jim Thompson. Letts considers sound to be a very strong storytelling tool for theater.

Reviews

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tracey Letts is the son of Billie Letts who wrote Where the Heart Is and other novels, all taking place in Oklahoma. Following in his mother's footsteps, Tracey Letts became a playwright, most notably of August: Osage County, which won both the Pulitzer Prize for drama and Tony Award in 2009. In Osage County, the dysfunctional Weston family has gathered to assist their mother Violet after their father Beverly's funeral. Premiering at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater, Osage County is a gritty family drama.

Beverly and Violet Weston lived in a small Oklahoma town southeast of Tulsa. Beverly had taught in the Tulsa University literature department for nearly forty years after publishing a stellar poetry collection. Yet, he allowed the early fame to get to him, often at the expense of his wife and three daughters. Over the course of their marriage, Beverly and Violet separated three times to clear the air, yet inevitably reconciled. As a result, Violet became a pill popper and the three daughters carried baggage for their entire adult lives.

Following their father's death, daughters Barbara, Karen, and Ivy must come to grips with their own lives while simultaneously caring for their mother. Barbara the oldest is in the throes of a divorce and raising a difficult teenaged daughter; however, she has declared herself the matriarch of the house. Meanwhile, youngest daughter Karen is finally getting married to a business man ten years her senior, while middle daughter Ivy desires to run off to New York with her first cousin. Total family dysfunction and chaos ensues as the entire family must live under one roof for as long as it takes Violet to get back on her feet.

While the multi-layered characters appear powerful in book form, they inevitable are much more poignant on stage. From the exchanges between the sisters and their spouses to rants of Barbara to her mother or her daughter, this three act play is best seen on stage or a staged televised production. Yet, Letts has crafted a modern classic play rife with memorable characters, who will stay with me even in written format.

For 2017, I have devised myself a Pulitzer challenge across many genres, and Osage County is my first completed work. A play reminiscing on a lifetime of what ifs, August: Osage County is a play not to be missed. Tracey Letts has created a powerful drama, which I hope to see one day on stage. I also look forward to reading Letts' other dramas. A tale of a dysfunctional Oklahoma family, Osage County is a solid 4 stars.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It lives where everything lives: somewhere in the middle."

There is no doubt that “August: Osage County” is a great American play. Reading it one instantly gets the same feeling you get from the best O’Neil and Williams dramas. And like those plays, it is saturated with anger and bitterness and love, and all those complex emotions that make us human.
Tracy Letts has written the text in a very simple direct style that flows easily, and the structure of the piece fills out nicely. It opens with a prologue that is worth going back and rereading after getting about halfway through, just to see what new resonance it has now that the reader has more information.
Written in three acts, the same structure that many great American plays seem to share, the first act pulls you in with an interesting ensemble and plotlines that hint at more under the surface. The second act features a family dinner for the ages and violently and relentlessly will propel the reader to its conclusion. The third act contains more scenes, seems to have a quicker pace, and really punches the reader in the gut with many moments that come up in quick succession. In the hands of a talented director and cast this play would be a gripping night in the theatre.
A key moment that stood out to me was Act 3:2, when the character of Barbara realizes that she will never really know why her marriage ended. That moment of acknowledging that she will never get the answers she deserves is recognizable, and painful, to anyone who has suffered through a breakup where the communication was less than should be desired. And really, that lack of honest communication is what the play is about in general. Our inability to be honest with others, and ourselves, is a profound recognition that you see in yourself as you read this play. Which brings me to the ending of the piece, a dark warning that to live your life without honesty and kindness will catch up to you at some point.
“August: Osage County” is a play that will be performed and read for generations, and it deserves to be because it is about important human truths, and if we don’t read and go to the theatre every once in a while to have those things pointed out to us…then why are we doing it?

[Kelly (and the Book Boar) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

I don’t know where this popped up (I highly doubt it was Goodreads’ recommendation feature since (a) it’s a script not a book and I’ve never had that happen and (b) it’s something I would actually want to read). It wasn’t via a friend either because only a few of them have read it and none posted a detailed review. That leaves either Instagram or the library . . . . .



Not that it matters much, but I do like to give credit where credit is due. To be honest, I requested this from the library just because it had a house on the cover. Yep, I’m that easy of a sell. I had no idea this won the Pulitzer, or all the Tonys or that it was adapted into a feature film. I just know I like house covers. But now that I’ve read it and am aware of all of the above, I’ve definitely been broadcasting my intelligence around the office . . . .



The story here is told in three Acts. Act I features various family members congregating back at the ol’ homestead when it is discovered the patriarch is missing. By Act II he’s dead and takes place after his funeral. Act III? Well, by the time that came around I was like . . . . .



I’d categorize this as a Tragicomedy. The story is very dark and depressing, yet somehow with all the goings on . . . .



There’s a lot of laugh out loud moments too. If nothing else, it will probably make you feel like your family reunions aren’t so bad ; )

[L A i N E Y (will be back) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tracy Letts sure knows how to write snappy dialogue! I’m so glad I decided to come read this even after being somewhat unimpressed with the movie version because I found this far superior in its original form.

[Sawsan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A play by the american author Tracy Letts
reunion of a family at August, Osage County
a lot of emotional damages and secrets have been hidden for years
after days of confrontation between the family members
they left home with feelings of grief and hurt more than before
good family drama, and the details of the characters are well written

[Seyed Hashemi · Rating 5 out of 5]

وقتی برای بار دوم. خوندمش و بازم فیلمش، August: Osage County (2013)، رو دیدم، خیلی بیشتر ازش خوشم اومد.


مواجهه دوباره با یه اثر، مخصوصا وقتی که اثری استخوان‌دار باشه، خیلی تجربه نابی است. مرسی که از رویا که باعث شد دوباره آگوست در اوسیج کانتی رو تجربه کنم.

[Dream.M · Rating 4 out of 5]

یک نمایشنامه مهم و جذاب دیگه که نشون می‌ده چه دراماهایی پشت درهای بسته خونه ها، توی دل خانواده ها جریان داره. حقیقت اون چیزی که همه سعی دارن پنهانش کنن. یه مشت محکم توی صورت رویاهای گل و بلبل خانوادگی
سومین کتاب از همخوانی هفت‌روز‌هفت‌نمایشنامه

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up late last night so I could finish reading Tracy Letts’s exquisite play, August: Osage County. I was fortunate enough to see it performed in San Francisco last month. I was especially fortunate to see Estelle Parsons reprise her Broadway role as family matriarch Violet Weston. I just learned that the woman is eighty years old! I can’t believe the things she goes through on that stage night after night. She is truly wondrous, and I think I can say with more than a fair amount of certainty that this was the best play I have ever seen or ever will see.

August: Osage County can be described as a darkly comic drama about a dysfunctional family in Oklahoma. You’re probably saying “Oh, that’s nothing new,” but in Letts’s capable hands it is. It is so dark and so bleak and yet so hilarious – sometimes all at the same time. I am sure many people can probably relate to at least part of the family dynamic. At one point the friend I attended the play with leaned over and whispered (about Violet’s son-bashing sister Mattie Fae) “That woman right there is my mother.” No doubt many people could see at least some of themselves in one generation or another of that family.

Beverly and Violet, the husband and wife, probably loved each other once, but their relationship has degenerated into bitterness and passive-aggressive behavior. She is a pill-popping harpy recently diagnosed with cancer of the mouth; an irony that is not lost on Beverly. He is an alcoholic and the poetic equivalent of a one-hit-wonder. They have three grown daughters, and two of them live out of state while one has stayed in their hometown.

The action really begins when Beverly goes missing and the three girls converge at their childhood home along with Violet’s sister, her husband, and their son. The eldest daughter brings her estranged husband and their daughter, and the youngest daughter brings her new fiancé, who has never before met her family. The tension is palpable.

My favorite part of the play was the family dinner scene. It was one of the most real and cringe-worthy things I have ever witnessed on a stage or even on a screen. It starts off pleasantly enough…there’s the griping over at the kids’ table, the bad jokes courtesy of Uncle Charlie, the fiancé trying and failing to make a good impression. I was just waiting for Violet to blow, and she didn’t disappoint.

See the play if you can; read it if you can’t or if you’re a fan of theater. I read it because I just wanted to experience the Westons one more time. What a sad and beautiful treat.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I recently had a zoom family funeral and attended my wife’s (socially distanced) annual family reunion, I thought I would read this similar gathering of a family in Oklahoma, where Tracy Letts grew up.

“Hey. Please. This is not the Midwest. All right? Michigan is the Midwest, God knows why. This is the Plains: a state of mind, right, some spiritual affliction, like the Blues.”

It’s a family drama that has the feel of Eugene O’Neill, Tennessee Williams, Sam Shepard, Edward Albee, bristling with nasty humor. Occasional tenderness, but some moments of very blunt “truthtelling.” And drugs, alcohol, adultery, and lots of profanity. It won lots of awards in 2008, the year I saw it at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago when it launched, and just listened to the LA Theater Works production with many of the original cast, which made it more fun.

This might be an indication of what Letts care most about: “I don't know what it says about me that I have a greater affinity with the damaged. Probably nothing good.”

I don’t think of Letts as a T.S. Eliot man, but the play begins with him: “Life is long,” and ends with him: “This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends. . .” and “Here we go round the prickly pear, prickly pear, prickly pear. Here we go round the prickly pear . . .” which leaves out the phrase that essentially characterizes the ending of August: “. . . not with a bang, but a whimper.”

At its best the play crackles with wit and humor and drunken nastiness, something like Albee or Williams. I grew up in the midwest, where Letts came to live. I survived my own family reunion and funeral, neither of which were as edgy or as brutal as this play, which is why you wouldn’t care to see a play about those moments in my life, I suppose.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. God. This play deserves every hint of praise and recognition it's ever been given. A perfect blend of realistic household bullshit and and spectacularly weird fuckeduppery, the Weston family grabbed my heart and ripped it out through my tearducts.

How can you know when enough is enough? Or when it's not enough? How do you swim through oceanic waves of family crisis, when the breakers are nothing but violent reflections of your own personal doom? Goddamnit. This play is both human and animal at the same time. And regardless of the fact that some of the shit that goes down is pretty twisty, I'm astounded by Letts' perfect psychological portrayal of humanity kicking itself in the crotch. Repeatedly.


Fuck, this play is good.

[Jean-Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

“All women need makeup. Don’t let anybody tell you different. The only woman who was pretty enough to go without makeup was Elizabeth Taylor and she wore a ton.”

Having seen the film adaptation and then read the play, how am I supposed to read this line without imagining the magnificent Meryl Streep in her jet black wig applying eyeliner in front of the mirror? You tell 'em, Violet! Don't get me started on catfish. How do I pick a favorite quote without quoting the whole damn play? One of my all-time favorites.

[Rêbwar Kurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

در عمق دشت‌های داغ اوکلاهما، جایی که سکوت، خود نمادی از فریاد است، خانواده در خانه ای جمع شده اند که سقفش از رازها سنگین شده، دیوارهایش از خشم ترک برداشته‌اند، و پنجره‌هایش نور را تنها برای بهتر دیدن زخم‌ها می‌بلعند، نمایشنامهٔ آگوست: اوسیج کانتی، و اقتباس سینمایی‌اش، واگشایی بی‌رحمانهٔ نهاد خانواده‌ است: آن جهنمِ مقدسی که انسان در آن متولد می‌شود، عشق می‌ورزد، خیانت می‌بیند، و می‌پوسد.

در مرکز این خانه، مادری ایستاده که سرطان دهان دارد؛ استعاره‌ای نه‌چندان پنهان از زبانی که فرزندانش را بلعیده. وایولت، مادر خانواده، نه صرفاً یک شخصیت، که تجسم تباهی‌ست: زنی با زبانی تیغ‌دار، مغزی مسموم از قرص، و روحی که دیگر فقط با تحقیر تغذیه می‌شود. او هم قربانی‌ست و هم جلاد، هم رنج‌کشیده و هم مسبب رنج. آن‌چه در او می‌بینی، یادآور همان ارادهٔ معطوف به قدرت نیچه‌ای‌ست که به جای رشد، میل به سلطه را انتخاب کرده؛ سلطه‌ای که از ضعف تغذیه می‌کند.

نمایشنامه، فروپاشی یک خانواده را نه با ضربه‌های ناگهانی، که با افشای تدریجی، با سکوت‌هایی سنگین، با دیالوگ‌هایی که بیشتر زخم می‌زنند تا گفتگو، به تصویر می‌کشد. شخصیت‌ها، یک به یک، همانقدر که سعی در نجات خویش دارند، دیگران را پایین می‌کشند. چون در خانه‌ای که عشق دیگر کار نمی‌کند، تنها راه باقی‌مانده برای تأثیرگذاری، زخم‌زدن است.

در خانه‌ای دور از هیاهوی شهر، در دل گرمایی خفه‌کننده، آدم‌ها دور یک میز جمع‌اند، اما هیچ‌کس برای گفت‌وگو نیامده. کلمات این‌جا نه برای ارتباط، که برای گسستن‌اند. آن‌چه میان این آدم‌ها جریان دارد، چیزی فراتر از خصومت است؛ زخمی‌ست که از نسل‌ها منتقل شده، زخمی که دهان باز کرده و حالا تمام اتاق را بلعیده.

مادری با دهانی آلوده به دارو و زبانی مسموم، نقش کانون این فروپاشی را بازی می‌کند. زنی که زبانش، سلاحی‌ست برنده‌تر از هر چاقو. فرزندانش را بزرگ نکرده، بلکه بلعیده. دروغ، تحقیر، بازی‌های روانی، و عشق‌هایی که سال‌هاست از هم تهی شده‌اند، این خانه را تبدیل به میدانی کرده‌اند برای نبردی بی‌پایان. هیچ‌کس این‌جا نمی‌خواهد برنده باشد؛ همه فقط می‌خواهند بازنده‌تر از خود پیدا کنند.

در میان چهره‌هایی که نقش خانواده را بازی می‌کنند، تنها چیزی که واقعی‌ست، فرسودگی‌ست. خشم، تنهایی، پشیمانی، و آن نیاز خاموش به تأیید، چون گرد و خاکی سنگین روی همه‌چیز نشسته. قدرت، در این خانه، نه بر اساس توانایی، که بر اساس توان تحقیر دیگران توزیع می‌شود. آدم‌ها به میز می‌آیند، حرف می‌زنند، و با هر جمله، یکی را از صندلی‌اش پایین می‌کشند. چون در خانه‌ای که عشق دیگر وجود ندارد، تحقیر تنها راه ابراز حضور است.

این تراژدی، چیزی از جنس فریاد نیست؛ آهی‌ست بلند، در سکوت ظهر یک روز داغ. هر شخصیت، گویی بازتابی‌ست از دیگری؛ مادری که در دخترش تکرار می‌شود، دختری که از مادرش می‌گریزد و درست در لحظهٔ گریز، به شبیه‌ترین تصویر او تبدیل می‌شود. و مردهایی که یا رفته‌اند، یا مانده‌اند تا شاهد پوسیدن باشند.

این قصه دربارهٔ خانواده نیست، دربارهٔ حقیقتی‌ست که هر خانواده‌ای ترجیح می‌دهد فراموش کند: این‌که پیوند خونی، تضمینی برای مهربانی نیست. بلکه گاهی دقیقاً همان بند ناف، می‌تواند طنابی باشد که آدم را به گذشته‌ای ببندد که هرگز فرصت فراموشی نیافته. این خانه، اگرچه شاید واقعی نباشد، اما شبحش را می‌توان در خاطرهٔ بسیاری دید؛ آن‌جا که به جای عشق، سایه‌ها رشد کرده‌اند.


فیلم، با بازی خیره‌کنندهٔ مریل استریپ و جولیا رابرتز، به درستی این ویرانی را نه در سطح روایت، که در چهره‌ها، سکوت‌ها، و لحظه‌های خاموشی منتقل می‌کند. مریل استریپ در نقش وایولت، مادرِ سمی و متزلزل، چنان زیسته که دیگر نمی‌توان فهمید کدام یک بازی‌ست و کدام واقعیت. و جولیا رابرتز، در نقش دختر بزرگ، میراث‌دارِ نفرتی‌ست که هم او را نابود می‌کند، هم به او قدرت می‌دهد.

آگوست: اوسیج کانتی داستان یک خانواده نیست؛ داستان نسلی‌ست که از مادران زخم خورده، و زخم را به فرزندان منتقل کرده. در جهانی که فراموشی به‌سختی ممکن است، تنها چیزی که باقی می‌ماند، همان درد مشترکی‌ست که هیچ‌کس برایش مرهم نیست.

اینجا خانه‌ای‌ست که در آن صندلی نیست برای تکیه دادن، میز نیست برای گفت‌وگو، و اتاقی نیست برای فرار. فقط آیینه‌ها هستند، برای دیدن خودت در چهره کسی که همیشه از او متنفری بوده‌ای.

[Lavinia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE BEST play I've read in years. Twisted on ALL levels and digging deep into SO many aspects: family - in all its intricate and dysfunctional combinations, personal growth, addiction, the "great" generation, academia, you name it.
I would love to see this performed but I'll settle for the star-studded movie version for the time being.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

هفت روز-هفت نمایشنامه. نمایشنامه‌ی سوم

[Steven Godin · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the time of reading this I didn't realize it was also a movie starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
I've since gone on to watch it, and found it did a really good job of bringing the play to the big screen.
One of the great plays from the last 20 years or so about family I'd say. Many mixed emotions I felt by the end. And the characters were so well done, and absolutely convincing. The funeral dinner party scene was the big highlight for me. Another play that I'd love to see on stage at some point.

[Constantine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5.0/5.0

I watched the movie 9 times already!! I loved loved loved loved it. I just wish this was a full book than only a play. Yes there are very subtle differences between this play and the movie but they are both perfection. Very dark yet very satisfying. Short yet very deep and with great emotional depth.

The characters are very defined, very unique and watching the movie makes the characters even with more depth. I heard that the play for this was very good too but I have not watched it. The movie however, is one of my all time favorites with brilliant actors like Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Margo Martindale etc. For many of the cast this adaptation was their best career performances. Yet I still feel it is one of the most underrated movies. It really deserves more recognition and applaud than what it got.

This is a must read book specially if you are interested to read about a dysfunctional family. the settings, characters, the unfolding events and the whole thing is just marvelous. After you read this, watch the movie so you see how things will come alive. Don't miss it.

[Overbooked ✎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tragedy triggers a perfect storm that will leave the Weston family relationships in ruins. Talk about drama!
I loved the author used humour to relive the hard blows that the family secrets delivered. I remember watching Maryl Streep (playing Violet) stunning performance in the movie version, and I loved reading the play just as much. 4.5 stars.

[david · Rating 5 out of 5]

A play about the jitters and strains within a family.

A story concerning the silent intra-dysfunctions amongst its members and blood relatives.

An exploration of the effects drugs, alcohol, etc., have not only on the user but on other members of a clan.

Secrets that are not shared but soon become apparent among family members.

A parable on gaining and losing control of perceived loved ones—a lesson on the reality of life without hyperbole- intelligently written with humor and sadness.

A drama about us.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play messed up my brain... I have book hangover so we'll talk about it later.

[Juli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es un libro que se lee muy rápido, la historia es un gran drama con miles de matices de la relación familiar e interpersonal de los distintos personajes !!

Entretenido para pasar el rato

[Steven · Rating 2 out of 5]

Given that there aren't many 2-star-or-below ratings, nor reviews with such ratings, I figured I should write something that may give another reader some sort of review to relate with (as I was searching for one earlier, but was left disappointed by the rather superficial reviews, e.g. "I couldn't relate with the characters," or "It was strong and powerful, but I didn't really enjoy it," etc.).

This play has a good amount of potential in it. References to Eliot's The Hollow Men, a set-up of commentary on Native American-White relations in the Midwest (Oklahoma), and a running commentary on the "relativeness" of literature. However, these aspects (including an exploration of time and death, as is usual in just about any piece of literature) sort of get thrown by the wayside and we mostly see family dysfunction taken to a rather extreme level (to the point of dysfunction-for-dysfunction's-sake).

The premise is rather cliche: the father goes missing and a family has to come together. And we have to wait a little while until we find out that he has committed suicide - but the only thing that seems important in starting out by hiding this information is to show the reaction of the family to this news, of which there is barely anything. The tale continues on as if his death is not even needed (other than to bring this family together - which is a rather amateur use of instrumentalism).

An aspect of the play I felt to be superfluous was Jean smoking pot, and then Steve hitting on her. This was predictable from their very first interaction. The play is already full of dysfunction without adding this on top of it. It's all just way overdone; in its quantity, all the potential quality that we started out with ends in a huge disappointment. We already understand how fucked up the world is; show us something more interesting.

[Xfi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obra de teatro ácida y tremenda, con unos personajes que no consiguen despertar la menor empatía.
Familia disfuncional con mas basura bajo la alfombra de la que cualquiera puede asimilar.
Dramón llevado al exceso con un final algo melodramático pero que tiene unos diálogos brillantes, hirientes y situaciones de tensión.
Tiene un aire a los clásicos de Tennesee Williams pero mas rudo, sin la contención de los 50.

[Kenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

It seems like it's been far too long since we've had a living-room drama play that is actually touching and disturbing and hysterically funny as well. I snorted with laughter and cringed with disgust while reading this. It was easy to imagine it staged, a real plus for script reading!

There are no heroes in this play. There are heroic moments by individuals, but really, no one comes away stronger or better off. A case could be argued for some, I suspect, and it could be staged or played that way, but the tragedy here is that none of these characters escapes the dysfunctional family genes.

If anyone ever wonders what the term 'dysfunctional' really means, or implies, this script could be THE example.

If I could have rated this 4-1/2 stars, I would have, taking half a star away for a couple of minor points.

Mainly...it went on too long. I don't necessarily mean the actual running time (though it would probably clock in at about 3 hours), but there were so many subplots that needed a resolution, and each ended as disastrously and dysfunctionally as the previous one, that it actually got tedious.

On the other hand the fact that each subplot actually had a resolution was a precious treat.

And...the dysfuntion was just a little too much sometimes. Did Karen's fiancee Steve really have to be so stereotypically a letcherous jerk? Sure, it shows that Karen can't escape the tradition of dysfuntion by choosing such for a partner, but it did have me shaking my head, thinking, "Oh, come on."

Still, all in all, a fantastic wild ride.

[William2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this on Broadway so I'm going to count it as a read. Fantastic production with Estelle Parsons as the crazy mother.

[Marisol · Rating 4 out of 5]

La obra de teatro 🎭 es un género literario poco leído aún cuando otorga las más intensas emociones, en una novela se prepara la historia con bastante de contexto, en una obra de teatro te arrojan al centro, en el mismo instante que empiezas la lectura.

Ambientada en un pueblo del sur, en los años 2000, una vieja y enorme casa de campo aloja a Beverly de 69 años, un profesor jubilado y su esposa VIolet de 65 desde las primeras hojas Beverly hace una presentación corta pero contundente:

“Mi mujer toma pastillas y yo bebo.”

Beverly contrata a Jonha, una india nativa con experiencia en enfermería. Ellos viven solos, pero tienen 3 hijas que ya están más allá de la medianía de edad, desperdigadas aquí y allá, sin hacer mucho acto de presencia, pero un evento repentino y no calculado hace que las hijas lleguen al hogar, así como la hermana de VIolet, esta mezcla de familiares que no se ven hace tiempo, pero que tienen tantas cosas guardadas por decirse y no necesariamente todas buenas, hace que las cosas estallen a cada rato, pareciendo una casa de locos y teniendo como único habitante cuerdo a Jonha.

📚🎭Anecdota: El título de la obra es “August, Osage County” tomado de un poema escrito por Howard Stark, un profesor de literatura que en sus cincuenta publicó un libro de poemas.


✔️🔝Pros: Personajes ácidos, disfuncionales, sin una pizca de simpatía, la ambientación, aunque la casa es grande, los dueños la mantienen totalmente cerrada y cubiertas la ventanas para no dejar pasar la luz, lo que hace más deprimente y opresivo el espacio en que conviven, los diálogos son mordaces, sin piedad, hay violencia física en los momentos justos.


‼️❌Contras: el personaje de Jonha es bueno, merecía mayor presencia, me pareció que el desarrollo de los personajes fue imperceptible, no hubo evolución alguna, lo que quitó un poco de complejidad a la obra, y volvía repetitivas ciertas escenas.


✍️🇺🇸Citas:

“Gracias a Dios que no podemos adivinar el futuro. Si nos dijeran lo que iba a pasar, no nos levantaríamos nunca de la cama. ”


🧐🤓🎭Veredicto: es muy buena, tiene un ritmo que no cesa, aunque el final se da muy rápido, tanto, que tienes que releer para entender bien, me gusto que con pocas referencias puedes entender por qué Beverly y Violet son como son, vienen de infancias brutales. Los temas que se tocan dan para bastante reflexión, la vejez, los traumas de la infancia, y el mayor sería el de la relación padres - hijos, ¿es mejor una relación cercana que puede volverse codependiente y no permitir el desarrollo de los hijos?, ¿una relación cordial pero distante, de tal forma que cuando se vean solo intercambian palabras de cortesía o acartonadas?, ¿donde quedará el punto medio?.

[SMLauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pues no me esperaba que me gustase tanto...

Al principio pensaba "¿Pero por qué son todos tan odiosos? ¿Es que no hay nadie normal?" y al final le he cogido el gusto a esta familia y cada vez que había un giro en la trama me entraba la risa, no podía evitarlo. Era como "Y otra más! ¿Cuál será la siguiente desgracia?", lo que se dice reír por no llorar.

La verdad es que hacer que una historia enganche cuando sólo hay un escenario y con un trama tan simple es de admirar.

Estoy deseando ver la película para ver a Mery Streep hacer de Violet, debe ser un espectáculo!

[Preston Scott Blakeley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Suitable exposé of current political tides through the microcosm of the dysfunctional home yet ultimately melodrama at its finest.

[Wes Hazard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Families are…complicated. We all know that much. Basically, if Thanksgiving dinners broke out into car chases on an even semi-routine basis, none of us would ever feel compelled to go the movies again because you just can't beat the laughs, tears, sighs and shocks that accompany a gathering of liquored up people that you only even know as a result of genetic happenstance. Sometimes it's awesome, sometimes it's torture, but no matter what happens you end up building some ineradicable (if not healthy) bonds and agreeing to do it all again next year. So yeah, families are complicated.

This play is about that, and it's about it in an awesome way. Hilarious, surprising, caustic, & honest, this is an on-target read for anyone who's ever looked over a plate of Christmas ham and thought "I'm seriously related to this person?? The universe MUST be joking." If you're lucky your fam is nowhere near as far gone as that of these characters, but you'll definitely relate somewhere along the way. If you're not generally a big reader of plays (I'd count myself here) don't hesitate on this one; I couldn't put it down.

P.S. Without question, one of the best dinner table scenes I've ever read anywhere.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast read because it is written in screenplay format. It does dyfunstional family well, drinking, drugs, cheating, lies and other secrets for this family in Oklahoma! I think its dark comedy at times (or to tell in the play format) but that's how my sense of humor took it.
I liked this story better than I thought, I read this as its part of a 2016challenge I am doing!