– By Cate Marquis –
The Repertory Theater of St. Louis finishes it’s 2023-2024 season on an exceptionally strong note, with the excellent drama “August: Osage County.” Despite a rocky post-pandemic situation that had threatened the season or more, this strength of this last production of the current season gives one hope. It is a testament to the outstanding strength and resilience of the Rep staff but also its status of a beloved institution with many, many fans and supporters, including John Goodman (thank you, John!). Those of us who love theater, particularly who love good, intellectually meaty plays and crave thought-provoking productions, whether drama or comedy, beyond the ubiquitous musical, are always grateful to the Rep for shows like this one.
Even in a less-challenging situation, “August: Osage County” would have been a standout. Playwright Tracy Lett’s Pulitzer-prize winning tragicomedy focuses on a scattered, large family gathering in the rambling, rural family home on the edge of the Great Plains, in the searing heat of August (and without air conditioning), brought together by a crisis: the disappearance of the family patriarch, Beverly Weston (Joneal Joplin).
The Rep’s longtime stallworth Joneal Joplin returns, and still has the goods as an actor, as he commands the stage as that patriarch, a once-famous poet, now sunk into alcoholism. Joplin heads up a large cast in this searing tragicomic drama, with Amelia Acosta Powell, former Associate Artistic Director at the Rep, directing. .
Put any large, scattered family together in a hot, rural house in summer – a place where they all grew up, filled with memories good and bad – and there are likely to be issues. There are, but this family has more problems than most to start, which is a massive understatement. Of course, we see little of the conflicts and quirks on the surface at first, as everyone is trying to stay focused on the crisis at hand, damp down their own dramas or keep their secrets. But the longer they are together, the more we get to know them, the more craziness comes out.
Violet Weston (Ellen McLaughlin) is the brash matriarch of those family, a woman with a big ego and many issues, including drug abuse. Barbara Fordham (Henny Russell) is the oldest daughter, who is secretly struggling to save her marriage, something she’d rather not share with he family. She is there with her smart-mouthed 14-year-old daughter Jean (Isa Venere) and husband Bill (Michael James Reed). The Weston’s middle daughter Ivy (Claire Karpen) and youngest daughter Karen (Yvonne Woods) are present as well, with their own baggage. Karen has brought along her fiance Steve (Brian Slatern) , who is a Florida businessman with perhaps shady business dealings. Violet’s sister Mattie Fae Aiken (Astrid Van Wieren) and her husband Charlie (Alan Knoll), are there, along with their ne’er-do-well grown son, still called “Little Charles” (Sean Wiberg).
Add to this mix the Weston’s newly-hired live-in maid and cook, a Cheyenne woman named Johnna (Shyla Lefner) and the local sheriff, Deon Gilbeau (David Wassilak) who they all grew up with, and is investigating the disappearance, and you have quite a stew for steamy August.
Mixing family drama and dark comedy, “August: Osage County” is a pressure cooker of a corker, a play with all the ingredients of great theater. Further, the Rep’s production stirs the pot just right, with an excellent cast, fabulous set and all the other production detail “spices” needed. There are twists and shockers, betrayals and unexpected support, all unfolding with the speed of a car rolling down hill. It is a wild, enjoyable ride, with excellent performances and unforgettable moments.
The play runs 3 hours, with two intermissions, but every minute is marvelous, and kept audiences on the edge of their seat, guessing what would happen next, what that crazy character would react, and how it would all play out.
While the production was pure enjoyment, the opening night brought one sadder note, news of the departure of Becks Redman, who seemed to have been a steadying hand in this stressful season, just when the Rep needed help the most. She will be sorely missed.
Run – put on your running shoes or your spike heels – but run to see this fabulous gem on the Rep’s stage before it is gone. This is a must-see, and an increasing rare treat in our metro area which once had more serious theater choices. The area still has many fine small theater groups but companies with the resources to stage this kind of first-rate, high-production value staging of a non-musical is increasingly rare. We need to support this kind of production while we still can.
The Repertory Theater of St. Louis’ “August: Osage County” is on stage at the Loretto Hilton Theater in Webster Groves through April 7.
© Cate Marquis
