August: Osage County is a rarity in this part of the world. It is a touring non-musical show. While stages around the greater metropolitan area are filled with big shows, most are snapping and buzzing with a full orchestra and hoofing on the boards. For those who love fine acting done staged with some of the most well crafted technical aspects, this is a play not to be missed. The work is in three acts with a preamble. Taking place in Pawhuska Oklahoma, the giant set is an amazing three story house, full of old furniture and stacks of books, layered so that one can even see the back rooms of the kitchen The way the sets are done, one has to wonder how this can be a touring show and not a permanent set. It is a simple wonder of stagecraft. August: Osage County opens with Beverly Weston (Jon DeVries) interviewing a local girl Johnna Monevata (DeLanna Studi) about a job at the house.

He is an acclaimed poet working in the simple back woods. After Johnna meets Violet (Estelle Parsons) the pill-popping lady of the manor, we jump forward a few clicks. It seems that Dad is now missing and the entire family comes back home to help out in the search.

Of course, everyone in the house has a secret. The oldest sister Barbara (Shannon Cochran) is separated from her husband Bill (Jeff Still) but has not told anyone. She brings both the husband and daughter Jean (Emily Kinney) along to portray the image of a solid nuclear family. The youngest sister (Amy Warren) is set to marry a man that none of the family has met. The beau is all flash over substance. The middle sister Ivy (Angelica Torn) has never left the parents side, keeping a dutiful watch over her parents. Though she has a secret boyfriend that no one in the family know about and a dream to leave Oklahoma to start a new life. We also get Violet's sister Mattie (Libby George) with her family and their problems.

The first part of the play is laying out all of these characters and their relationship to each other. The second act happens after a funeral. We get the giant sit-down dinner that is the centerpiece of the work. The family bickers and feuds all the while passing the bounty. As the tensions mount, the hilarity mounts. Between the close quarters and the familial tensions, the comedy and pathos explode in equal measure. As some secrets are revealed, others become more pronounced. All the while Violet lets everyone know that nothing gets past her.

The last act are the final resolutions of the plot and the fast forward again. We see the aftermath of what the funeral had brought and the final dissolution of the Weston clan. It is a sorrowful ending to a bit of theater.
It must be noted that August: Osage County is a very adult play, both with language and themes. There are loads of profanity but all are needed to make the characters work It is not done for shock value but to drive the plot and the theatrical roles work in the context. Sometimes a perfectly placed dirty work can work wonders in setting a mood.

Works like August: Osage County rise or fail in terms of casting. There is not one miscast part in the work, even in the smallest parts. This cast feels like a family, beat perfect in execution. The highest praises have to go to Shannon Cochran as Barbara. This is the kind of performance that can turn into a major theatrical career. She shows some great comic timing while assuming the role of head of the family. Her discovery of how hard it is to be in charge is the backbone of August: Osage County
Estelle Parsons has received many well-deserved accolades in her role as Violet. She merits every one of them. This pill-popping granny has a spitfire staccato and brings meanness to a new level. This Oscar winner shows that she can deliver on the stage. Even though her Bonnie and Clyde role will probably be her most remembered performance, this is a very close second. In a word it is magic.

For fans of theater August: Osage County is a show that should not be missed. Every thing one would want in a theater piece, from amazing sets to amazing performances, is on the stage. It is as close to a Broadway caliber work one gets so far away from the East Coast.

One last note. This was my first time at the Winspear and I was just taken aback by how wonderful this space is. With its golden rings and lush woods, this is the premiere place to see entertainment both warm and inviting. The acoustics are perfect. It is just a beautiful theater and something that Dallas can be truly proud to have in the city.

Starring: Estelle Parsons, Shannon Cochran Jon DeVries and Libby George
Written by: Tracy Letts
Directed by: Anna D. Shapiro

When: January 12, 2010 thru January 24, 2010
Where: Winspear Opera House – Dallas, Texas
http://www.attpac.org/