Chris Huey, Tom Lenaghen, Nancy Sherrard and Pam Doughtery in the staged production of “August (Courtesy of WaterTower Theater)

You may believe that you come from a dysfunctional family until you are drawn into the country home of the matriarchal Weston family just outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma during the summer of 2007.

It is messy, overwhelming and distressing, but at the same time, very real and believable. In fact, an entire generation of Weston family secrets are revealed in the WaterTower Theatre’s production of “August: Osage County” by Tracy Letts, arguably one of the most loaded, exciting and dynamic contemporary plays of the 21st century.

“August: Osage County” is directed by René Moreno.

The show opens on Beverly Weston (Cliff Stephens), who is speaking with a Native American woman who he hires as a cook and caregiver for his wife, Violet (Pam Dougherty), who is being treated for mouth cancer. He admits to being an alcoholic and reveals Violet’s addictions to prescription drugs. He says, “My wife takes pills, and I drink. That’s the bargain we’ve struck.”

The prologue and first act is primarily exposition, setting up the chaos and trauma that becomes clearer in the second two acts.

A few weeks later, Beverly goes missing. As the family members start arriving, the family drama and chaos ensues. Just when you are certain things cannot get worse, they do. This comes with an overwhelming sense of tragedy and misfortune for the Weston family, but also with a tinge of humor.

Violet has suffered a rough childhood and as a result, is verbally abusive to her family, most specifically her three daughters, Ivy (Kristin McCollum), Barbara (Sherry Jo Ward) and Karen (Jessica Cavanagh), judging them and bringing them down with her sharp tongue as an effort to feel better.

The shy Ivy lives nearby and has never gotten married, much to her mother’s chagrin. What no one knows is that she has been secretly seeing her first cousin, Little Charles (Clay Yocum), who is equally shy and awkward.

The headstrong Barbara arrives with her husband, Bill Fordham (James Crawford), who has had an affair with one of his younger college students, and their 14-year-old pot-smoking daughter, Jean (Ruby Westfall).

The youngest daughter, Karen, arrives late with her fiancé, Steve (Chris Huey), yearning to tell her family about her new-found love interest.

Also in the mix are Violet’s sister Mattie Fay Aiken (Nancy Sherrard) and her husband Charlie Aiken (Tom Lenaghen), as well as county sheriff and Barbara’s high school prom date Sheriff Deon Gilbeau (Stan Graner) and Violet’s housekeeper Johnna Monevata (Sasha Truman-McGonnell).

There is not a single weak link in the whole motley crew that shows up for this family reunion.

Dougherty, as the troubled Violet, is equally tragic as she is aggressive. She commands attention on stage, with her constant altering state of mind that is both terrifying and heartbreaking for the audience.

Ward plays Barbara with both unbelievable strength and sensitivity in dealing with the situations of her sick mother, her estranged husband and troubled daughter.

Crawford makes his seemingly unforgiving character as Barbara’s cheating husband into a devastating, even respectable man. And Westfall is very believable as the Fordhams’ daughter.

Rodney Dobbs’ beautiful and eerie three-story set fits the mood and context of the play well, with its refined architecture and furnishings.

Letts’ play is three hours of thought-provoking, meaningful bliss and is performed by the group at the WaterTower with unbelievable specificity and truthfulness. There is something so respectable about how brutally honest the play is with Letts’ ingenuous details with regard to his characters, family dynamics and plot.

That being said, this is certainly not feel-good theater by any means. In fact, do not see it on an empty stomach, as it will flip and turn at the different plot twists and cringe moments throughout the show. You may even learn to appreciate your own family as a result of seeing this play.

The play runs until April 22 at WaterTower Theatre in Addison, Texas.