Why is called August: Osage County?

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:09pm

I get the August part I'm just still confused as to where the "Osage County" part comes from.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:11pm

That's where it takes place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osage_County,_Oklahoma

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:11pm

Pawhuska, Oklahoma, where the show is set, is a city in Osage County, Oklahoma. Pawhuska is also the County Seat of Osage County.

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:18pm

It's a terrible title for a very good play, both from the perspective of driving ticket sales and describing the show.

It doesn't describe the show very well. Yeah, it's hot and that plays into it. Yeah, it's in the sticks in Oklahoma, that plays into it. But it sure doesn't describe the point of the show at all.

It's also not good for ticket sales. That title alone sure doesn't make me want to see it. It's obscure without being enigmatic--not a good combination to spark interest in your show.

I'm surprised why they chose that title. Is there a story behind it? Am I in the miniority here?

[jaystarr]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:19pm

The Time : Month of August (blisthering hot humid month)
The Location: Osage County in Oklahoma (middle of nowhere)

That's the mental picture that the play wants you to see- a hot blistering humid month in the middle of nowhere America. It was also explained at the beginning of the play.

J*

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:21pm

I don't really mind it, though I would also be curious to know what other titles were considered.

Brief threadjack: I finally saw it last week, after being like, the only person in New York who hadn't seen this play yet. I was exhausted by the end and I felt like I'd been in the theater for about a day, but I loved it. Excellent indeed.

Updated On: 6/10/08 at 03:21 PM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:26pm

What would a better title be?

[verynewyorkcurious]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:44pm

Jaystarr gave a good explanation. It's a perfectly fine title.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:49pm

"The Day Daddy Died"?

[TonyVincent]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 3:59pm

How about THE PATRIARCH?

More enigmatic and engaging, reveals the focus of the show, both literally (the missing father) and figuratively (who is really running the family?). People get the sense that it's going to be about a father and his family, not about some county they've never heard of in some month.

I'm sure there are better ideas out there, but that's what I've been able to come up with.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 4:05pm

How about "The Hollow Men"?

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 4:14pm

You mean like that sketch show that gave us a glimpse of what life would be like if Monty Python sucked?

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 4:20pm

Because "Wicked" was already taken.

[auggie]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 4:32pm

I am not a big fan of a colon in a title, maybe it is because of all those books you hear about on NPR from snooty authors. I now refer to it simply as August.

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 4:39pm

I think the title is fine and it doesn't look like it affected tickets sales. I saw it in December and I think those 3 hours flew by.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 5:45pm

The title is taken from Howard Starks' poem, "August: Osage County." In the script given to the actors, etc. Letts acknowledges that he didn't come up with the title himself and thanks Starks for letting him use it.

[WickedBoy2]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 6:36pm

The most exciting 9 hrs I've spent in the theatre in many years. (3 perfs in 6 weeks).
I look forward to being part of the London production that we know have in preparation for early 2009!

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 6:47pm

I still haven't been able to see it. I was away doing summer stock last summer when it premiered in Chicago (where I live), and by the time I got back and I heard about its brilliance, it was already in its last week and was sold out. I'm hoping to go to New York this August to visit my brother and catch it then, but half the original cast will be gone and it won't be the same experience I'm sure. Blast!

[winston89]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 7:18pm

Baritone,

I am sure that it won't be the same without the original cast. But, a smart move would be to not let that stop you from seeing what is an amazing play.

[jv92]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 7:29pm

It's a fine title. The Patriarch sounds like some bombastic royal epic about an Austrian princess and her cruel father.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 7:38pm

Haha jv that it too true.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 7:42pm

"The Patriarch" is also really boring.

[JeaniusIsMe]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 7:47pm

I think the title certainly fits in setting the scene. Something like "The Patriarch" would suggest that the story focuses on the patriarch rather than him simply serving as the catalyst for the play's driving action. That being said, I certainly shorten it simply to August whenever I talk about it.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 9:11pm

If you were to read a script, that's how the setting would be listed.

August: osage county.

Geeze!

[rgaywrites]

Posted: 6/10/08 at 10:39pm

I love the title. I remember in a journalism class learning about the 5Ws, and I've always thought the title covered the When and Where and the play itself took care of the who what and why.