Palm Beach Dramaworks audiences will be taking that dive beginning March 31 (7:30pm), when August: Osage County opens at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre. The play runs through April 16, with specially priced previews on March 29 and 30. Producing Artistic Director William Hayes directs.  

A huge, sweeping tragicomedy that clocks in at a remarkably fast three-plus hours, August: Osage County is set in a rambling country home outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma and is a “largely fictional” story of Letts’ family. The play is about the pain family members inflict on each other and pass along from generation to generation. The Weston clan is so embittered and embattled that dysfunctional would be a step up. Causing most of the damage is the damaged Violet – based on Letts’ grandmother – a drug-addled monster of a mother. Her depleted husband, Beverly, who prefers drinks to drugs, walks out the door one morning and disappears. The Weston daughters and other family members gather around Violet, and the rancor and rage that spill forth have audiences laughing and cringing – often simultaneously – in horrified recognition.

PBD’s production features Sara Morsey (PBD debut) as Violet; Dennis Creaghan as Beverly; Kathy McCafferty, Margery Lowe, and Niki Fridh as their daughters; and, in alphabetical order, Iain Batchelor (PBD mainstage debut), Allie Beltran, Christopher Daftsios (PBD debut), David A. Hyland, Bruce Linser, Ryffin Phoenix (PBD debut), Stephen Trovillion (PBD debut), and Laura Turnbull. Scenic design is by Michael Amico, costume design is by Brian O’Keefe, lighting design is by Kirk Bookman, and sound design is by Roger Arnold.  

August: Osage County was commissioned by and received its world premiere at The Steppenwolf Theatre Company, and all but two of the actors in the original cast went on to Broadway. Anna Shapiro was the director. The play marked Letts’ Broadway debut and earned him his first Tony Award. A number of critics compared the piece to Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and/or Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night.   

“There was a great moment in New York when I received an award from the New York Drama Critics Circle, and it was presented to me by Edward Albee,” Letts said. “I did not know he was going to be there, and I was quite shocked and very honored by his presence. And he said to me, ‘I’ve read the comparisons [to the aforementioned plays], and I would just encourage you not to read too much into them. Critics tend to make those comparisons; that’s part of their job. But don’t get caught up in it. Your play is very much a singular piece.’ I’m very flattered when I hear those comparisons, but they’re not my comparisons. However, it would also be less than genuine if I didn’t say that August: Osage County borrows the language of O’Neill and Albee. It’s in the tradition of the big American drama. So, the play absolutely owes something to them.” 

Tracy Letts received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for August: Osage County. Other plays include The Minutes (Pulitzer finalist), Linda Vista, Mary Page Marlowe, The Scavenger’s Daughter, Superior Donuts, Man From Nebraska (Pulitzer finalist), Bug, and Killer Joe. Several of his plays premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where he has been a member since 2002. Also an acclaimed actor, Letts won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play for his performance in a revival of Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? He’s also appeared on Broadway in his play The Minutes, Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, and Will Eno’s The Realistic Joneses. A short list of his Steppenwolf credits includes David Mamet’s American Buffalo and Glengarry Glen Ross, Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, and Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman. Letts has also written screenplays (including The Woman in the Window and the film adaptation of August: Osage County), and appeared on the big screen (Ford v Ferrari, Little Women, The Post, and Lady Bird) and small screen (Divorce).

Palm Beach Dramaworks is a professional, nonprofit theatre company founded in 2000 and located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach. Each season, the award-winning company produces five mainstage shows and offers a wide variety of programs for students at the theatre, in schools, and online. Committed to fostering the future of theatre, PBD has become a hub for playwrights in Florida and around the country to nurture their work through initiatives including Drama(in the)works and the annual New Year/New Plays Festival. PBD is a member of Theatre Communications Group, Florida Professional Theatres Association, and the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County. palmbeachdramaworks.org

All evening performances (Wednesday through Sunday) of August: Osage County are at 7:30pm. Matinee performances are on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets for all performances are $84, except for opening night ($99) and previews ($64). Student tickets are available for $15, and anyone under 40 pays $40 (no additional fees) with a photo ID. Tickets for educators are half price with proper ID (other restrictions apply). Group rates are available through the box office. Tickets can be purchased through the box office, in person, or by phone (561.514.4042 ext. 2), and online 24 hours a day at palmbeachdramaworks.org.    

The Don & Ann Brown Theatre is located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street. For ticket information contact the box office at (561) 514-4042, or visit www.palmbeachdramaworks.org.