August: Osage County Tickets

I thought the play was slow to get going and to get into. Estelle Parson's performance of Violet was over the top. Her drugged state could have been played more subtly and still have been conveyed. I enjoyed many of the characters and the set but wish a curtain could have been dropped during intermissions and scene adjustments. The Loge seats I had were wonderful if a bit precarious and worth every penny. But for my money I'll stick to the musicals in the future. There we more empty seats in the house than I would have expected.

It was full of swearing and dark subject matter. Would not recomend. I have been to many broadway shows and this one we left early. And so did many others

amazing performances that suck you in, characters are fully developed and defined, over 3 hours but does not feel like it

The play was long, 3 hours, and way way to dark for me. Totally depressing plot made it rank as one of the worst plays I have ever gone too. The actors may have been wonderful, but I had trouble hearing them, and couldn't relate to their roles.

Quite long but well worth the tired butt! Something disfunctional for everyone. Lots of comic relief which made underlying sadness bearable.

This play deals with themes (nearly every one of them) that have been the staple of tragicomedy in American theatre for many decades, and most of the plot devices are not particularly novel or engaging (although one does develop some feelings--positive or negative- for most of characters). Some of this problem derives from the fact that these themes play out nearly daily in what we are exposed to through the media and so we are just not as surprised by this stuff any more. Many other reviews have pointed this out. So, although my wife and I both felt that the acting was superb, the script (i.e., dialogue) outstanding, and the directing top-notch, we will probably not remember much or any of it several years from now. This is in contrast to other plays we have seen in Seattle (mostly at the Rep, ACT, or Intiman) or at Oregon Shakespeare Festival that deal with dark subjects (sometimes but not always laced with comedy) in much more creative (and therefore, to us, memorable) ways. Examples: The Pillowman, The Goat or Who is Sylvia?, most anything by August Wilson. So, we ended up paying much more money for a touring version of a Broadway show than we typically do for more engaging productions/plays here in the Northwest (some of which, of course, were on Broadway at one time...but didn't tour). I suspect we were seduced into doing so because it was a Broadway production with lots of awards and buzz. Live and learn...

Start to finish this play was so compelling that I felt as though I were sitting in the living room watching the family interact around me. The acting was superb and exceeded my expectations. It was both tragic and comedic and we couldn't stop talking about it after we left the theater. Bravo!

Bring a Snickers! Three and a half hours, really? A good story, finely told but, really?

We sat in the first mezzanine of the Paramount and it was a little hard to hear, at first. I almost fell asleep during the first third of the play. It definitely started to pick up after that and the laughs started rolling in! The shining stars were definitely the mother and oldest daughter. Their banter was hilarious. It was a good mix of drama and comedy. Overall, I had a great time and enjoyed the acting.

It was unclear if the production was directed to be too emotive and caracitury or the material was just sort of shallow to begin with, but for me it lacked a solid emotional core nor evidenced any particular insight into why these people were interesting or illustrative enough to follow or care about. Their talk was rather trite and seemed to get its impact mostly from a liberal use of profanity. I wasn't offended, it just seemed as if their use of it was itself making some deeper point that escaped me. Altogether, it wasn't bad, just tedious. The production itself was emaculate and evocative, however. And the acting was very strong - within the earlier complaint about being to emotive.

The writing, acting, cast and comic tragedy of this play is outstanding. It's no wonder it garnered so many awards and the standing ovation it was given (last night). Rich in real life humor and tragic consequences, this show stands above anything I've witnessed in the last 10 years.

Seemed like average base emotions. Nothing to inspire. Why would I want to spend money and an evening for uninspired lower level emotionalism. I want goose bumps and tears of joy. People did seem to like it thought so who knows.

I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed an evening of theatre as much. I am indebted to my niece, Lucy, who’d seen August: Osage County at the National Theatre in London and told me not to miss this touring production of the play originally devised by Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company. An epic work of art staged with the help of Seattle Rep, the three and a half hours of heartbreak and hilarity are as big as the whole outdoors; tours de force of acting, writing and set design. Estelle Parsons plays Violet Weston, the matriarch of a rural Oklahoman family whose clan gathers around her when her alcoholic husband goes walkabout. The action takes place on one set, the Westons’ three story Victorian home. Amusement and empathy are wrung out in disparate measure in Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer-winning story of small-town American dysfunctional folks. The lines are excruciatingly honest and despite the specific locale, evocative of every family, anywhere. Verbal violence, secrets, lies, manipulation, shame, addiction, repression, passive aggression - the full bhuna of delights that make family life so rich and rewarding - are all masterfully portrayed or teased from the script by the thirteen talented cast members, some direct from the Broadway production. The laughter generated is as much the sort needed to cover up the discomfort of recognition of the too familiar pain being administered by parents on children and vice versa as a response to the repartee in the dialog. Whenever I go to the theatre, generally to some grim but perversely uplifting Irish play, I have a tendency to say ‘that was the best thing ever’ and resolve to go more often and then fail to follow up. August: Osage County is the best thing ever, again. It is so good, so brutally and funnily true, that everybody, at least anybody from a dysfunctional family with half a brain, should see it. Beat a path to the box office. It’s only in town for another four days.

This was an amazing performance. The play successfully tackles several thorny issues, including addiction and aging. None of the performances was weak and all of the characters are difficult. The author uses levity to distance the audience from the tension and dysfunction that dominate the story. I would highly recommend this play, this company, and this author. A very moving evening.

I can only stand so much family screaming, and this play took it beyond the sanity level. I guess that was the point, but it stopped being funny in the 2nd act, and was unbearable by the 3rd act.

There were a few strong moments, and surprisingly strong minor characters -- brother-in-law Charlie was great. Overall, this was a depressing -- and overly long -- view of decaying American families. We responded to a "bargain ticket" offer, and got what we paid for.

People should go see more plays, bottom line. August: Osage County was excellent.