Estelle Parsons as Violet Weston
“Life is very long.” This is the very first line in “August: Osage County” where Beverly Weston is quoting T.S. Eliot. The irony of this line at the beginning of a play that runs over three hours is quickly lost on an audience who spends half of their time laughing at the bitingly hilarious honesty that is carried throughout Tracy Lett’s tragicomedy. For anyone who considers themselves to be the sane member of an all together crazy family, especially one from the South, this play about the tragic death of the patriarch of an Oklahoma family is filled with plenty of drama to relate to and one-liners to remember.
Every cast member in Steppenwolf’s production of this Tony Award-winning show, which runs at the Winspear Opera House through Jan. 24, gives a stunning performance as different members and relations of the Weston family. Each of their personal struggles is given the opportunity to shine through in a manner that is sincere, humorous and heartbreaking. But no actor or actress plays their role with quite enough vigor to outshine Estelle Parsons or Shannon Cochran.
These actresses take on the roles of the dominant women in the house; fighting against the family and each other for control of the tragic situation they find themselves in. Parsons gives an exceptional performance as the drug-addicted, caustic matriarch who manipulates her children into taking care of her. Cochran plays the eldest of three daughters, who is on the verge of divorce and is becoming more and more like her mother everyday. These women and the manner in which their characters interact with one another will move an audience from sidesplitting laughter to tears within minutes.
“August” marks the second show to play at the Winspear in the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Lexus Broadway series and both have managed to wow their Dallas audiences. Both “South Pacific” and “August” contained some of the greatest talent to be seen onstage in Dallas for many years, with an exciting promise of what is still to come.
-Lauren Smart, Copy Editor
