Heat and Drama in RTC’s ‘August: Osage County’
By Dan Guarino
Drenched in the Oklahoma heat, the deep secrets, tensions, desires and roiling dynamics of the Weston family come center stage in the (RTC) Rockaway Theatre Company’s production of “August: Osage County.”
The Pulitzer Prize winning drama opens on Friday, September 26, and runs through Sunday, October 12, at RTC’s John Gilleece Theater at Fort Tilden. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays, September 26/27, October 3/4 and 10/11 plus Thursday, October 9, at 7 p.m. sharp and Sundays, September 28, and October 5 and 12 at 2.pm. sharp.
As noted, evening shows will be at 7 p.m. rather than the usual 8 p.m. and audiences are advised to arrive early as all shows will start promptly on time. Tickets are available at www.rockawaytheatrecompany.org
“‘August: Osage County’ is a ‘tragicomedy’ about a family imploding under the weight of secrets, addiction, and generational trauma,” co-director Jodee Timpone said. “It is autobiographical in nature.”
She and co-director David Risley, who have been diligently working together on this production, have previously directed such RTC hits as “A Few Good Men,” “The Miracle Worker” and others.
“My first encounter with (‘August: Osage County’) was not on a stage, but rather in the movies,” Timpone said. “I thought the performances were wonderful, but the story itself was heartbreaking. Later, after we decided to put this on, I started doing my research and saw the Broadway production on YouTube. I was shocked to hear the audience laugh! There are both hilarious and devastating moments in this play…hence the ‘tragicomedy.’”
“August: Osage County,” written by playwright Tracy Letts, first debuted onstage in Chicago in 2007, before later moving to Broadway. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Letts, as well as garnering numerous Tony, Drama Desk, Drama Circle and other awards nominations and wins over the years.
Showing its vast emotional appeal across all continents, cultures and even languages, it has seen winning productions in England, Australia, Germany, Argentina, Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Austria, Spain, India, Poland, Israel, Taiwan and more—often adapted into each country’s language.
“August: Osage County,” with a script by Letts, was made into a film in 2013, with Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and an all-star cast.
“When I first read the title,” Timpone said, “I simply thought that it related to the time and place that the play was happening in. While it does, the stifling heat in Oklahoma in August somewhat mirrors the ‘heat’ that is taking place during the play.” She noted, she discovered that Letts “did not choose the name but rather ‘borrowed’ it.”
As Letts once explained, “I could never come up with a title as brilliant as ‘August: Osage County.’ Mr. Howard Starks, gentleman, teacher, poet, genius, mentor, friend, created that title for an extraordinary poem that is one of the inspirations for my play. I ‘steal’ the title with deference, yet without apology – Howard, I’m sure, would have it no other way – and I dedicate this play to his memory.”
In RTC’s production the action, featuring some 15 actors, sprawls across a spacious, multilevel RTC built set, as the large and talented cast moves through the tightly wound interactions of the Weston family. Daughters Barbara, Ivy and Karen, along with children, husbands and boyfriends, have come home to faltering mother Violet as the mystery of the disappearance of Beverly Weston- husband, father, poet and patriarch unravels. Dramatic turns and revealed twists will keep audiences riveted throughout.
“This is an ‘actor’s play,’” Timpone said. “Each role is substantial and gives each character a chance to strut his stuff, so to speak. The play is so sharply written…and, perhaps because of its dark nature, is not often done in community theatre. So, we felt it would attract both auditioners and audiences.”
Our “cast is a blend of familiar and new faces,” Timpone said. “Each cast member has been working very hard to bring their character to life in the way that Tracy Letts intended. A director can’t ask for more than that!”
“David and I started analyzing this play back in February,” she said. “We figured out timelines and backstories to the best of our ability. We (also) had great conversations with our actors concerning how they felt about their characters.”
Besides directing productions as a team, Timpone explains she and Risley have both been Rockaway Theatre Company members for “quite some time and have been in many, many shows.” She cited acting roles in works like “A View from the Bridge,” “Rumors,” “Brighton Beach Memoirs” and “Honeymoon in Vegas” as some of her favorites. She and Risley have appeared together in “Footloose” and Regrets Only,” while he has had roles in “What The Rabbi Saw,” “The Miracle Worker” and “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.”
“David really likes to block the scenes (directing the action of the actors),” Timpone said, while “I like to pay attention to the characterization and delivery of the lines. So that works out. Of course, there have been times where we collaborate on both of those tasks. I have great admiration for David as a director.”
As for staging “August: Osage County” with its interweaving storylines and many characters, she said, “I think that one of the biggest challenges in directing a play, particularly a drama, is having the actors get from point A to point B in a way that makes sense, and I don’t just mean movement wise. Their characterization has to be consistent. I think in a musical it’s easier to suspend credibility. In musicals, magical things can happen. Dramas deal with reality.”
In that sense, and in this production, “August: Osage County” is very real.
To those intrigued by this next work in RTC’s string of hits, speaking for Risley and herself, Timpone said, “Please come see this bold, funny and deeply human play. You’ll laugh, you might cry, but you’ll definitely appreciate your own family more!”
Photos by Dan Guarino
Sign by Jean Hammel
