BWW Reviews: AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY - A Dysfunctional (Wonderful) Evening at Omaha Community Playhouse

August: Osage County, the 2008 Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning play has taken over the Omaha Community Playhouse. Thursday evening, I went to see this play for the first time and I was not really sure what I was getting myself into. All I knew was that it was a longer play (3 ½ hours) about a dysfunctional family. Dysfunctional would be putting it lightly. This family has completely lost it and by losing it, I mean gone, out the window, crazy! Their eccentric personalities and interesting lifestyles will have you rolling over in laughter the whole evening! You may be thinking to yourself, three and a half hours, that’s a pretty lengthy show and I am not sure if I am up for that, trust me you are! Without a doubt, I would recommend this show to anyone (minus children, due to the language and nature of the show).

Though the script might be a little rough in terms of language, this show would not have the same effect if it were censored. August: Osage County is something that you might not expect from a community theatre as it is on the risky side, but I am so thrilled that Omaha Community Playhouse has decided to take that risk. In my opinion, theatre is supposed to be raw; it’s supposed to show the day-to-day emotion without the fear of being too controversial and that is exactly what Tracy Letts the writer of August: Osage County has done.

Susan Baer Collins leads the cast as Violet Weston, the matriarch of the family. Violet is trying to manage her family as well as her life. This comes as a challenge as she is battling not only health problems but as well as many family problems, from death to incest. Collins portrays Violet with such ease that it makes you wonder where her Tony Award is. I look forward to seeing Collins in the future as I was truly blown away by her performance.

Moira Mangiameli as Barbara Fordham, daughter to Violet Weston is coming to terms with many things in life. The fact that she and her husband are battling divorce, while dealing with her family issues makes for some pretty humorous scenes. Barbara, being very stubborn and hard headed (like her mother) is trying to wrap her head around how her family could be so insane, when in all actuality she’s right there alongside them. Mangiameli is so convincing and puts on a great show! Between her and Collins, there was no way that I was going to walk away disappointed.

This family is by no means normal and most definitely dysfunctional, but that’s what makes this play what it is and it truly is fantastic! The entire cast knocked it out of the park, they put on one of the best performances that I have seen from a community theatre in a long time, if not ever. I commend director, Amy Lane on her job with this show; she most definitely created a masterpiece. I look forward to returning to Omaha Community Playhouse to see many shows in the future as well as seeing August: Osage County again. If you get the chance, please check out this fantastic show, you won’t be disappointed!

August: Osage County is playing the Omaha Community Playhouse from August 17 – September 16, 2012. For more information on this wonderful show or for tickets, call (402) 553-0800 or online at www.OmahaPlayhouse.org or www.TicketOmaha.com. Single tickets are $35 for adults, $21 for students. Group tickets are also available, $23 for adults, $15 for students.

Photo Credit: Omaha Community Playhouse

To post a comment, you must register and login.