#1
Posted: 4/20/08 at 9:16pm
I saw AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY's final performance at the Imperial this afternoon (it's moving to the Music Box on the 29th) and found it to be an enthralling theatrical experience that I won't soon forget.
It's unfair to call it a 'show' and to call the performances 'performances' because I don't think I've ever seen a more real 'show' than AUGUST. It's an experience, not a show.
Each and every performance was spot-on and the best argument I can think of that there should be a Tony for Ensemble Performance. There truly wasn't a weak link in the cast, they all delivered stunning and completely realized and emotionally raw performances that made the show almost hard to watch. Of course, though, I must echo almost every reviewer's sentiments in saying that Deanna Dunagan and Amy Morton are absolutely unbelievable. They have totally embodied their roles and really take every single movement and line and breath as their characters and no one else.
Tracy Letts rightfully won the Pulitzer this year for his absolutely incomparable text. He has just the right amount of acerbic wit, startling drama, moving conflict, and unexpected eccentricities. Each and every scene is infused with genuine realness and not one moment rings false. There are a few scenes that are a bit long, but that is about my only complaint about his writing. It's really brilliant.
The intricate set is a shoo-in for this year's Tony, the lighting is fine, the costumes are fittingly understated, and the direction by Anna D. Shapiro is the best directorial work on a play that I've seen in years.
The show is three and a half hours long with two intermissions, but it breezed by for the most part. It's hilarious, heartbreaking, and the best play I've seen since and possibly including Rabbit Hole. Catch it at the Music Box...you won't regret it. It's a blisteringly beautiful play.
**** out of ****
It's unfair to call it a 'show' and to call the performances 'performances' because I don't think I've ever seen a more real 'show' than AUGUST. It's an experience, not a show.
Each and every performance was spot-on and the best argument I can think of that there should be a Tony for Ensemble Performance. There truly wasn't a weak link in the cast, they all delivered stunning and completely realized and emotionally raw performances that made the show almost hard to watch. Of course, though, I must echo almost every reviewer's sentiments in saying that Deanna Dunagan and Amy Morton are absolutely unbelievable. They have totally embodied their roles and really take every single movement and line and breath as their characters and no one else.
Tracy Letts rightfully won the Pulitzer this year for his absolutely incomparable text. He has just the right amount of acerbic wit, startling drama, moving conflict, and unexpected eccentricities. Each and every scene is infused with genuine realness and not one moment rings false. There are a few scenes that are a bit long, but that is about my only complaint about his writing. It's really brilliant.
The intricate set is a shoo-in for this year's Tony, the lighting is fine, the costumes are fittingly understated, and the direction by Anna D. Shapiro is the best directorial work on a play that I've seen in years.
The show is three and a half hours long with two intermissions, but it breezed by for the most part. It's hilarious, heartbreaking, and the best play I've seen since and possibly including Rabbit Hole. Catch it at the Music Box...you won't regret it. It's a blisteringly beautiful play.
**** out of ****
