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August: Osage County | 
| Author: Tracy Letts
Publisher: Theatre Communications Group
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 1800
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 152
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.4
ISBN: 1559363304
Dewey Decimal Number: 812.6
EAN: 9781559363303
ASIN: 1559363304
Publication Date: February 1, 2008
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Nice Wit and Spark, but Nothing Really New... May 13, 2008
With its colorful characters and snappy dialogue, "August: Osage County" makes for an unquestionably enjoyable night at the theatre as well as a fun read.
It's a nice piece -- witty and sharp, but as a much-heralded 'masterpiece' it fell short for me. It was ultimately pretty derivative, with a story and characters that are basically a mashup of "Crimes of the Heart" with your basic Tennessee Williams melodrama, and with a dash of the bitter dust of Sam Shepard for flavor.
The play itself moves along at a snappy pace but(especially when viewed onstage) is far too long, and could have been edited both in writing and performance to be much tighter. The three-act format feels indulgent and unnecessary. There are also several extraneous and completely unnecessary characters who directly contribute to the bloat, some of whom are total cliches. (The worst of these, a sleazy pedophile, is so clumsily telegraphed that he basically announces his motives within his first four lines of dialogue -- the audience actually groaned aloud when I saw it.)
For me, for something theatrical to be a masterpiece, I want to feel like I'm reading or seeing something new -- a story or characters I have not seen before. And unfortunately there just wasn't anything that original about AOC -- we've all seen the dysfunctional screwball family drama a zillion times and this just didn't bring all that much new to the table for me. When I saw "Wit," for instance, I encountered a truly unique character. I heard language I had never heard before, thoughts I had never imagined. Same with "Angels in America" and heck, even "Prelude to a Kiss."
But AOC? It's an enjoyable piece of theatre. On the up side, there are some wonderful monologues, some sharp observational humor and dialogue, and a lovely, truly haunting ending.
But, while a perfectly good effort, I was surprised that it won the Pulitzer Prize -- I just didn't see anything that brought it to that level for me. It's a good play. But I don't think it's a play for the ages and suspect it will probably not be performed all that frequently decades from now. Time will tell.
Another view April 27, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
If some fans of this play want an interesting opposite view of Osage County take a look at Pawhuska Kid's Stuff by Stevie Payne. This is the Osage County I remember growing up there.
Cheers...................... ;-)Pawhuska Kids' Stuff: Memories of Pawhuska and Friends
 Wonderful read, can't wait to see this! April 20, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
The thought of giving up three or more hours to sit in a dark theater can make me depressed. Until something like this comes along! Just finished reading this play and so hope that I can get to NY to see it. I'm so glad this won the Pulitzer and so glad it premiered in Chicago at the Steppenwolf, as this is a play and a theater that truly deserve the recoginition.
AOC is the best new play in years! April 6, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
August: Osage County is the best new American play I have seen in years. I saw the production on Broadway with the original cast and I was blown away! The characters are so raw and the humor and heartache so biting. I loved every minute of it and the three hours-plus zipped by in a flash. Anyone who did not like this show has to have their head examined or perhaps they are pretentious blow-hards...My husband and I found it to be absolutely riveting. We would see it again in a heartbeat. And I bought the script just so I could read it and absorb whatever may have been lost during the performance. I highly recommend this show and this script.
Astounding April 6, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
August: Osage County, is, quite simply, the best new American play in years. Brilliantly executed, and if you get a chance to see the original cast, brilliantly performed.
Letts will most certainly win the Pullitzer mere days from now, and we can all hope that Morton will win the Tony for her amazing performance as Barbera, the eldest daughter of the Weston clan.
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