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August: Osage County (TCG Edition) Paperback – February 1, 2008
| Tracy Letts (Author) Find all the books, read about the author, and more. See search results for this author |
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"A tremendous achievement in American playwriting: a tragicomic populist portrait of a tough land and a tougher people." TimeOut New York
"Tracy Letts' August: Osage County is what O'Neill would be writing in 2007. Letts has recaptured the nobility of American drama's mid-century heyday while still creating something entirely original." New York magazine
I don’t care if August: Osage County is three-and-a-half hours long. I wanted more.” Howard Shapiro, Philadelphia Inquirer
"This original and corrosive black comedy deserves a seat at the table with the great American family plays."Time
One of the most bracing and critically acclaimed plays in recent history, August: Osage County is a portrait of the dysfunctional American family at its finestand absolute worst. When the patriarch of the Weston clan disappears one hot summer night, the family reunites at the Oklahoma homestead, where long-held secrets are unflinchingly and uproariously revealed. The three-act, three-and-a-half-hour mammoth of a play combines epic tragedy with black comedy, dramatizing three generations of unfulfilled dreams and leaving not one of its thirteen characters unscathed.
August: Osage County has been produced in more than twenty countries worldwide and is now a major motion picture starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Dermot Mulroney, Sam Shepard, Juliette Lewis, and Ewan McGregor.
Tracy Letts is the author of Killer Joe, Bug, and Man from Nebraska, which was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His plays have been performed throughout the country and internationally. A performer as well as a playwright, Letts is a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where August: Osage County premiered.
- Print length152 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTheatre Communications Group
- Publication dateFebruary 1, 2008
- Dimensions5.4 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-109781559363303
- ISBN-13978-1559363303
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Editorial Reviews
Review
In Tracy Letts’s ferociously entertaining play, the American dysfunctional family drama comes roaring into the twenty-first century with eyes blazing, nostrils flaring and fangs bared, laced with corrosive humor so darkly delicious and ghastly that you’re squirming in your seat even as you’re doubled over laughing. A massive meditation on the cruel realities that often belie standard expectations of conjugal and family accordnot to mention on the decline of American integrity itself.” David Rooney, Variety
August will cement Letts’s place in theatrical history. He has written a Great American Play. How many of those will we get the chance to discover in our lifetime?” Melissa Rose Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly
Packed with unforgettable characters and dozens of quotable lines, August: Osage County is a tensely satisfying comedy, interspersed with remarkable evocations on the cruelties and (occasional) kindnesses of family life. It is as harrowing a new work as Broadway has offered in years and the funniest in even longer.” Eric Gorde, New York Sun
“This fusion of epic tragedy and black comedy is a bold step for Letts, whose earthy, distinctly contemporary wit flows throughout. His account of a family whose secrets and lies come spilling forth under duress ranks with the best American drama of the past decade.” –Elysa Gardner, USA Today
“In Tracy Letts’s ferociously entertaining play, the American dysfunctional family drama comes roaring into the twenty-first century with eyes blazing, nostrils flaring and fangs bared, laced with corrosive humor so darkly delicious and ghastly that you’re squirming in your seat even as you’re doubled over laughing. A massive meditation on the cruel realities that often belie standard expectations of conjugal and family accord―not to mention on the decline of American integrity itself.” –David Rooney, Variety
“August will cement Letts’s place in theatrical history. He has written a Great American Play. How many of those will we get the chance to discover in our lifetime?” –Melissa Rose Bernardo, Entertainment Weekly
“Packed with unforgettable characters and dozens of quotable lines, August: Osage County is a tensely satisfying comedy, interspersed with remarkable evocations on the cruelties and (occasional) kindnesses of family life. It is as harrowing a new work as Broadway has offered in years and the funniest in even longer.” –Eric Gorde, New York Sun
About the Author
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Product details
- ASIN : 1559363304
- Publisher : Theatre Communications Group; 2nd ptg edition (February 1, 2008)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 152 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9781559363303
- ISBN-13 : 978-1559363303
- Item Weight : 7.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.4 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #401,534 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #635 in American Dramas & Plays
- #656 in Dysfunctional Families (Books)
- #11,796 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Tracy Letts was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for August: Osage County, which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre in 2007 and later played on Broadway, at London's National Theatre, and at theatres around the United States and internationally. In 2013, August: Osage County became a feature film starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Other writing credits include The Minutes, Linda Vista, Mary Page Marlowe, Man from Nebraska, Killer Joe, Bug and Superior Donuts. He has been an ensemble member at Steppenwolf Theatre Company since 2002. As an actor, he was awarded a 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. His screen acting credits include a role on Homeland, the film The Lovers, as well as the Oscar-nominated film Lady Bird.
Customer reviews
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Tracy Letts has written the text in a very simple direct style that flows easily, and the structure of the piece fills out nicely. It opens with a prologue that is worth going back and rereading after getting about halfway through, just to see what new resonance it has now that the reader has more information.
Written in three acts, the same structure that many great American plays seem to share, the first act pulls you in with an interesting ensemble and plotlines that hint at more under the surface. The second act features a family dinner for the ages and violently and relentlessly will propel the reader to its conclusion. The third act contains more scenes, seems to have a quicker pace, and really punches the reader in the gut with many moments that come up in quick succession. In the hands of a talented director and cast this play would be a gripping night in the theatre.
A key moment that stood out to me was Act 3:2, when the character of Barbara realizes that she will never really know why her marriage ended. That moment of acknowledging that she will never get the answers she deserves is recognizable, and painful, to anyone who has suffered through a breakup where the communication was less than should be desired. And really, that lack of honest communication is what the play is about in general. Our inability to be honest with others, and ourselves, is a profound recognition that you see in yourself as you read this play. Which brings me to the ending of the piece, a dark warning that to live your life without honesty and kindness will catch up to you at some point.
“August: Osage County” is a play that will be performed and read for generations, and it deserves to be because it is about important human truths, and if we don’t read and go to the theatre every once in a while to have those things pointed out to us…then why are we doing it?
'August:Osage County' is so good,so dysfunctionally twisted,that no one gets away unscathed. A masterpiece. Mr. Lett's won a Pulitzer Prize for this jewel and deservedly so.
The story is set in Oklahoma,in the home of Beverly and Violet Weston. They are children of the 60's,born into poor families.The Weston's worked hard in youth and for their toils have all the trappings of a good life. But it is not enough. The past's secrets haunt them and have taken too great a toll; Beverly drinks,while Violet is addicted to prescription drugs-again.
Then Beverly Weston comes up missing. Their three daughters gather to support Violet and each other while they wait for news.
This is when the sadness,madness and secrets of every member comes pouring out.
At times funny,charming and shocking,'August:Osage County'receives the highest of fives from me.
I just know I will be reading it again.
Aloud.
As mentioned by other reviewers and etc., The play starts off with Beverly Weston, a noted poet and retired professor, interviewing Johnna for the position of housekeeper and the keeper of his wife Violet. Beverly is clearly drunk, and that's where things got more interesting for me to read. It started off slow and weird, but I slowly and slowly began to like the play.
I have read plays before, and have enjoyed them. This one is no exception! It did take me a few pages to slowly get the feel for the book, but when I did, I finished the book within 2 days! I really liked the theme of the play and I will not spoil the story for anyone who is interested, however, I must recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in reading plays or even watching them.
What's keeping you from buying this book? If you like plays and/or enjoying watching/reading them, why not give this book a shot? Never judge a book (well this is a play) by its cover.
And while on the subject of Tracy Letts writing, the first act of Superior Donut was sublime. I thought he nailed race and class in America through characters and dialogue. The following acts were a huge disappointment to me----I guess I wanted more vision, hope, thinking out of the box in the plot. But bravo Mr. Letts for tackling it! I'd love to see you (you're reading this, right?) taking the first act and writing an alternative sucession. Oh, did I say Tracy Letts is an avatar at dialogue, characters, stories?
Top reviews from other countries
I decided to buy the play, and as it can do "text to speech" Iistened to it in this way. It took a bit of getting used to, because each character is named before each speech, but after a while one gets used to it, and being a play it is obviously better to hear the dialogue than to read it.
It is a really gripping story and I thoroughly enjoyed it, and can recommend it to anyone who is not shocked by bad language.
There is nothing in this play worth your time: plot, language, characters, psychology ... nothing.
The dynamic between the 3 sisters was also very interesting to me. Being 1 of 3 girls myself, I couldn't help but compare my sisters and me to the Weston's..
Superbly written by Tracy Letts.
Bravo!
.....cannot wait for the film!!!!!








