[NEohioPAL] Opening this week: "August: Osage County"

[Keith Campbell]

Weathervane Playhouse News

"August: Osage County" opens this week!


Dad vanishes. Mom pops pills. A marriage has fallen apart. A hidden romance has been simmering. A lie is about to be revealed. And three sisters harbor shady little secrets.
Weathervane Playhouse opens it 78th season by exposing the dark side of the American family with August: Osage County - a critically celebrated play that unflinchingly - and uproariously - depicts a Midwestern American family in crisis.

Described by The New York Times as "the most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years," August: Osage County in 2008 won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the Tony Award for Best Play. Under the direction of Jacqi Loewy, August: Osage County is presented live on stage at Weathervane Playhouse between Sept. 6 and 23, 2012.

One of the most bracing and critically acclaimed plays in recent Broadway history, August: Osage County is a blistering portrait of the modern dysfunctional American family at its finest - and absolute worst. Beverly Weston is the hard-drinking patriarch of the Weston clan who disappears one hot summer night. Unsure whether he is dead or just missing, his extended family reunites at the Oklahoma homestead, where long-held secrets are unflinchingly and uproariously revealed.

The fractured, multi-generational Weston clan must also deal with the deeply unstable Violet Weston, the sharp-tounged, pill-popping matriarch who stands at the center of this domestic storm.

Grand, gripping, blisteringly honest, bitingly funny - and yet sensationally entertaining - August: Osage County reveals a family full of unforgettable characters who are forced to confront uncomfortable truths.

Due to adult language and situations, August: Osage County is recommended for mature audiences only.

Weathervane's August: Osage County Performance and Ticket Information
August: Osage County plays on the Weathervane Playhouse Founders Theater stage between Sept. 6 and 23, 2012.

The low-cost preview performance is Thursday, Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m.; the official opening-night performance is Friday, Sept. 7 at 8 p.m.

Between Sept. 6 and 23, 2012, the performance days and times are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.

Tickets for the Sept. 6 preview performance only (at 7:30 p.m.) are $15 each. Tickets for performances after Sept. 6 are $21 each.

$19 tickets for seniors are available for Thursday and Sunday performances. Tickets for children (ages 17 or younger) and college students are $5 each at all performances. Additional discounts for groups of 12 or larger are also available.

The Weathervane Playhouse Box Office is open Mondays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and is also open beginning one hour before each performance. For tickets, visit or call the Weathervane Box Office at 330-836-2626 during Box Office hours or connect online to www.weathervaneplayhouse.com to purchase tickets online.



Weathervane's August: Osage County Cast and their Ohio Residences
Alex Cikra (of Hartville) plays the role of Beverly Weston

Harriet DeVeto (of Akron) plays the role of Violet Weston

Tari Bergoine (of Aurora) plays the role of Barbara Fordham

Jim Fippin (of Wadsworth) plays the role of Bill Fordham

Erin Moore (of Stow) plays the role of Jean Fordham

Laura Stitt (of Cuyahoga Falls) plays the role of Ivy Weston

Mary Mahoney (of North Lawrence) plays the role of Karen Weston

April Deming (of Cuyahoga Falls) plays the role of Mattie Fae Aiken

Tom Stephan (of Stow) plays the role of Charlie Aiken

Frank Castorena (of Akron) plays the role of Little Charles Aiken

Tina Thompkins (of Akron) plays the role of Johnna Monevata

Richard Worswick (of Bath Township) plays the role of Steve Heidebrecht

Michael Cranston (of Wadsworth) plays the role of Sheriff Deon Gilbeau



Weathervane's August: Osage County Backstage Team and their Ohio Residences
Stage Manager - Scott Custer (of Wadsworth)

Sound Designer - Michelle Conner (of Akron)

Lighting Designer - Erin Katz Ford (of Cuyahoga Falls)

Properties Co-Designers - John Grafton (of Bath Township) and Barbie Trotter (of Akron)

Costume Designer - Jasen J. Smith (of Akron)

Scenic Designer and Technical Director - Alan Scott Ferrall (of Cuyahoga Falls)

Assistant Technical Director - Kathy Kohl (of Akron)



About the Show's Director
JACQI LOEWY returns to Weathervane Playhouse, where her prior directing credits include They're Playing Our Song, Man of La Mancha, I Do! I Do!, The Full Monty, Proof, Little Shop of Horrors, The Laramie Project and The Last Five Years. An Assistant Professor of Communication and Theatre Director at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, her direction has been seen on the stages of Cleveland Play House, Ensemble Theatre, Dobama Theatre, Case-Western Reserve University, Charenton Theatre, Lyric Opera Cleveland, PlayhouseSquare and Cleveland Public Theatre. She also had the privilege of supervising all three years of PlayhouseSquare's production of Tony n' Tina's Wedding, the longest-running show in Cleveland's history.



About the Show's Production History
August: Osage County originated at Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where playwright Tracey Letts is a member of the theatre's artistic ensemble. Following the show's highly successful 2007 premiere at Steppenwolf, the show transferred to Broadway, where it ran for 648 performances. The play also enjoyed a successful run at London's National Theatre and a 40-week tour across the United States. August: Osage County won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 2008 Tony Award for Best Play and the 2008 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. A motion-picture adaptation of August: Osage County is slated to begin filming in September on location in Oklahoma with a cast featuring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.


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Weathervane Playhouse * 1301 Weathervane Lane * Akron, Ohio 44313 * Box Office telephone number: 330-836-2626 * Web site: www.WeathervanePlayhouse.com
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