August: Osage County

In a collaboration between Utah Repertory Theater Company and Silver Summit Theatre Company, Tracy Letts' monumental and Pulitzer Prize-winning work August: Osage County makes it's Utah debut in the new Sugar Space arts center, located in downtown Salt Lake City. As many will remember, the play was turned into an film with Academy Award-nominated performances by Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.

August: Osage County is a remarkable work. It highlights the contemporary American family dealing with tragedy, as they all do in different ways. As the narrative unfolds, inner demons inside the family begin to surface, revealing the darkness the members of the family experience. In this dark comedy, the protagonist, Violet, experiences the harsh realities of narcotic addiction and the pain she is causing to her alcoholic husband, and her daughters who are all dealing with serious problems of their own. With a powerful female perspective, the play addresses issues of mothers and daughters, women and their husbands, and cultural differences. As the daughters passionately avoid intimacy, they fear being alone, tapping into a dissociation complex that plagues contemporary American life while using aggression and criticism as a means to cope and reconnect, and as a defense mechanism. Letts taps into some very difficult and real problems in American life.

The collaboration between these two theater companies is something to be seen indeed. Heading up the cast is Teresa Sanderson as Violet. Having recently portrayed Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Pinnacle Acting Company, Sanderson eases into this role with fresh perspective that could have easily been just another rendition of Martha. She adds both comedy and pity to this complex and impressive character. The entire cast is strong and I wish I could mention each by name. The three daughters: Ivy, Barbara, and Karen (played by
Michele Rideout, April Fossen, and Melanie Nelson, respectively) are incredibly impressive. All with distinct personalities, they all take their time to shine. With Rideout's tragically beautiful vulnerability, she has a presence that can break your heart. Nelson's character taps into the utter denial of disappointment. She has such depth in her performance that could easily be portrayed two-dimensionally. April Fossen as Barbara really pulls out all the stops. Fossen uses a full range of emotions as her tortured character is revealed layer by layer.

All the performances in August: Osage County are remarkably strong, from the mentioned major characters to the comparatively minor roles. Tamara Howell as the housekeeper, Johnna Monevata, gave a performance that was both complex and beautiful. She had an aura of mystery, perfect for the role, yet a elegance as she took the abuse from Violet with class and sophistication.

Director Mark Fossen must be commended for one of the best performances of a play I've seen in Utah this year. Impeccably casted, and well-directed in what could potentially be a very awkward venue, the show is absolutely wonderful. The only downfall of this production is positively terrible set. With bizarre black walls inside the house, unnecessary additions like poorly designed windows and a bizarre floor pattern meant to look like hardwood floors, the only redeeming factor is maintaining the original multi-story design. This being the only flaw, it is sometimes difficult to ignore the terrible set, but the remarkable acting happening on stage is definitely enough to forgive these shortcomings. I hope to see more collaborations like this bringing together the strongest and most talented artists in Utah to present another monumental work. August: Osage County runs through Sunday, August 31st.