August: Osage County

The Kimmel Center presented the regional premiere of Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play August: Osage County, starring Oscar Award-winning actress Estelle Parsons, at the Forrest Theatre. In this densely plotted play, a father disappears, a mother falls prey to addiction, a marriage unravels, and a family approaches meltdown. A departure from the Kimmel's other touring Broadway productions, most of them musicals, August: Osage County reflected the organization's growing institutional commitment to the presentation of significant, adventurous theater.

Estelle Parsons contributed to a moderated discussion with local theater professionals while in town. She likened the play to a revue sketch, where an actor can "get out there, say the lines loud and clear, and act as if you know what you're talking about, and it works." To watch video snippets from this discussion with Parsons, click here, here, and here.