Character description, analysis and casting breakdown for karen weston from august. George washington was known for never telling a lie. Osage county tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strongwilled women of the weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the. The youngest daughter in the weston family, age 40. In deciding to stay with her lecherous fiance, she makes the dra. Time august 2007 prologue a rambling country house outside. Ivy and barbaras sister karen has flown in from florida with her new fiance and can talk about nothing except her wedding plans, distressing barbara.
Winner of the 2008 pulitzer prize and tony award for best new play, august. It was the recipient of the 2008 pulitzer prize for drama. Middle daughter karen, cindy phillips, flies in from florida. Osage county kicks off when the surviving members of the weston family convene for the funeral of beverly sam shepard, a drunken poet who died on one of his. Osage county quotes below are all either spoken by violet.
Osage county very little of this plays out like comedy. One of the most bracing and critically acclaimed plays in recent history, august. After discovering that her fiance, steve, has attempted to sleep with her fourteen year old niece, karen explains to her sister that although people do bad things, they are still human. This quiz and worksheet will ascertain what you know of august. Osage county and a tony award for his portrayal of george in the revival of whos afraid of virginia woolf. Letts born july 4, 1965 is an american playwright, screenwriter, and actor. Karen, ivy and barbaras sister, has come into town with her fiance, steve, who. You will need to know certain topics, such as who johnna is to the weston family and why. In the dining room, barbara and her sister karen fold napkins and place.
Osage county original, play, broadway opened in new york city dec 4, 2007 and played through jun 28, 2009. Be prepared to read any of the gender specific parts. August, osage county is a frequently comic dark drama. I think i spent so much of my early life thinking about whats to come, yknow, who would i marry, would he be a lawyer or a football player, would be dark haired and good looking and broad shouldered. Osage county join stageagent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Osage county opening in london, i decided to revisit the show in new york, to see how it was faring with its much heralded cast. Jean opens up to her about the family drama shes been through. With meryl streep, dermot mulroney, julia roberts, juliette lewis. Osage county study guide contains a biography of tracy letts. Dps offers an extensive list of titles that includes many of the most significant plays of the past century. Osage county johnna mccarthy tracy letts wrote his award winning play, august. Here, we have a crazy, dysfunctional play about a crazy, dysfunctional family. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.
Dec 25, 20 karen, he killed himself, ivy replies flatly. The play opens with beverly weston delivering a monologue about poetry and suicide. When the patriarch of the weston clan disappears one hot summer night, the family reunites at the oklahoma homestead, where longheld secrets are unflinchingly and uproariously revealed. Violets missing husband, beverly weston appears briefly, only during the plays beginning. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one. The original cast was great, but the current cast is a testament to the plays durabity as a powerful modern drama with an unfashionably large cast, 3 hoursplus run time and two intermissions. Osage county, based on his own personal experience. In deciding to stay with her lecherous fiance, she makes the dramatic decision to leave her family and sanity behind.
It has been made into a twohour movie that feels like a month. Osage county is a 20 american tragicomedy film directed by john wells. She speaks in a monologue, directly to beverly, remarking on how august was always his month. She is sober, for the moment, but holds a bottle of pills in her hand. Bursting with humour, vivacity, and intelligence, august. That pillow was a better husband monologue the glass menagerie, by tennessee williams for the full lists, visit. Osage county is a reflection of reality, then there are two types of husbands.
Osage county is worthy of the praise it has received from critics and audiences. Osage county falls into an uncanny valley between melodrama and camp, failing to achieve either heights of operatic feeling or flights of knowing parody. Osage county centers around the weston family, brought together after their patriarch, worldclass poet and alcoholic beverly weston, disappears. Osage county was a threehour play that felt like two hours. Osage county is a black comedy by american playwright tracy. At the end of the act the sheriff and barbras ex tells the family that beverlys body has been found. The play premiered at the steppenwolf theatre in chicago on june 28, 2007, and closed on august 26, 2007. Hopefully, the play will be embraced by college professors, for the text is rich with compelling characters and scintillating criticism of the modern american family. Osage county kicks off when the surviving members of the weston family convene for the funeral of beverly sam. The matriarch, violet, depressed and addicted to pain pills and truthtelling, is joined by her three daughters and. Karen, forty years old, is the youngest of bev and violets children. Osage county is both dense and funny, vicious and compassionate, enormous and. Karen i mean id kiss my pillow, and then id tell him id been to the doctor that day. In the dining room, barbara and her sister karen fold napkins and place them on the table.
After years of pining for a man, and dating loser after loser, karen has finally met mister rightan older man named steve who is kinda country club but is good. His wife violet meryl streep, who is fighting mouth cancer and a growing dependency on pain pills, sees her entire clan return home for the services, including her sister mattie fae aiken. Be prepared to read any of the gender specific parts in any of the scenes attached. I dont know how well you remember andrew thats the best example. As karen monologues at her sister barbarawhom she hasnt seen in. Osage county best writing adapted screenplay tracy letts theweinstein compamv august.
The play opens with beverly weston delivering a monologue about poetry and suicide, a foreshadowing of the events to come. Osage county by tracy letts theatre communications group violet i ever tell you the story of raymond qualls. Time august 2007 prologue a rambling country house outside pawhuska, oklahoma, sixty miles northwest of tulsa. Osage county tells the tale of the dysfunctional westin clan, who all come together after the death of patriarch beverly weston sam shepard. A look at the lives of the strongwilled women of the weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. And another with barbara, steve, and karen as they discuss the mowing of the. She claims to have been unhappy her entire adult life, prompting her to move away from the family and. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of august osage county by tracy letts. Osage county is about a family dysfunction as a result of more than sufficient exposure to toxic aspects such as drug addiction, alcohol abuse, verbal abuse. With resilient truth, letts shows how familial influences have both a positive and negative impact on an individuals mental, physical, and emotional health. Winner of the 2008 pulitzer prize, tracy letts darkly comic drama august. She takes pills, flips through his books of poetrythe most famous of which is dedicated to herand proclaims that she will not weep for him. Letts wrote the play in 2007, at the end of the bush administration and the beginning of a.
Mick lasalle is the san francisco chronicle s movie critic. He received the 2008 pulitzer prize for drama for his play august. You do understand that it hurts, to go from sharing a bed with you for twentythree years to sleeping by myself. Youre a good, decent, funny, wonderful woman, and i love you, but youre a pain in the ass. Dramatists play service, one of the premier playlicensing and theatrical publishing agencies in the world, was formed in 1936 to foster national opportunities for playwrights by publishing affordable editions of their plays and handling the performance rights to these works. Karen babbles on and on about her newfound commitment to living in the present moment. Jean is embarrassed by the event and blames all of her problems on barbara.
But telling the truth even the socalled truth can be a hazardous. Karen weston, bev and violets daughter, forty years old. Osage county an endless sky at twilight foreboding. Martindale and cooper are always reliable presences whether theyre acting out wellworn, lowkey marital animosity, or winding up to a fever pitch of rage. Osage county written by tracy letts 1 an endless sky at twilight 1 foreboding. Aug 01, 2016 steve heidebrecht, karen s fiance, fifty years old sheriff deon gilbeau, fortyseven years old place a large country home outside pawhuska, oklahoma, sixty miles northwest of tulsa. The matriarch, violet, depressed and addicted to pain pills and truthtelling, is joined by her three daughters and their problematic lovers, who harbor their. Familial responsibility and entrapment quotes in august. Karen babbles on and on about her newfound commitment.
Beverly weston, sixtynine years old violet weston, bevs wife, sixtyfive years,old barbara fordham, bev and violets daughter, fortysix years old bill fordham, her husband, fortynine years old jean fordham, their daughter, fourteen years old ivy weston, bev and violets daughter, fortyfour years old karen weston, bev and violets daughter, forty years old mattie fae aiken, violets sister, fiftyseven years old charlie aiken. Osage county audition material everyone will choose one monologue to present at the auditions no memorization necessary but be prepared to read the other one in your gender in case the directors request. Heres a guy i loved so intensely, and all the things he did wrong where just opportunities for me to. Osage county quotes below are all either spoken by karen weston or refer to karen weston. Shes the audience for beverlys opening monologue and its into. Karen, 40, talking to her sister on the day of a family funeral about having found a good husband. Osage county is an awardwinning play by wellknown contemporary playwright tracy letts. Need help with act 2, scene 1 in tracy lettss august. Steve heidebrecht, karens fiance, fifty years old sheriff deon gilbeau, fortyseven years old place a large country home outside pawhuska, oklahoma, sixty miles northwest of tulsa. Apr 18, 2019 winner of the 2008 pulitzer prize, tracy letts darkly comic drama august. Aug 12, 2015 a tragic event brings the family together beverly has disappeared.
Osage county is a black comedy by american playwright tracy letts. Violets daughters barbra, ivy, and karen,their families, and her sister mattie fae all arrive to support her. View full character profile 1 monologue summary after discovering that her fiance, steve, has attempted to sleep with her fourteen year old niece, karen explains to her sister that although people do bad things, they are still human. Actors are to deliver a short prepared monologue in an american accent and may be asked to read from the script, a copy. Osage county study guide contains a biography of tracy letts, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Roberts is startlingly effective in her grim, harddriving role as the family member most determined to cow violet through sheer force. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in august. Osage county premiered at the toronto international film festival on september 9, 20, and was released in the united states on december 27, 20.
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