Blog

By Mario Muscar

Last week, I was fortunate to be able to go see the closing play of Towngate’s 2017-2018 season, “August: Osage County.”

It is somewhat rare that I get to go into a show with little knowledge, but this time, I was fortunate enough to do just that. I have never read the play, nor have I seen it. I also have never watched the 2013 film adaptation starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.

So I was excited that I was able to go into a show fresh and with no preconceived notions. Sure, I know that the play is a dark, tragic comedy. I know that it is has a large cast and that it has some wonderful roles for women. But that was about it. And I enjoyed what I saw.

Note: Some minor plot points/spoilers follow.

First, let me say that the cast does a great job at conveying the dysfunction and pain that these characters experience. And that is no small feat with such a large cast of 13 performers. But this group of actors comprised of both seasoned and new performers takes the script by Tracy Letts and makes it real on the stage. I recognize some of these characters. I have dealt with them in my own life, and I am sure that anyone who sees this performance with feel the same way to some degree.

One thing that really stuck with at me in the show was how it portrays addiction. The matriarch of the family, Violet Weston, is addicted to multiple medications, including opioids. This really hits home as this state and the Upper Ohio Valley have a massive addiction problem to these types of drugs. We live in an area where, in one night in the last year, there were three overdoses in about a half-mile radius of each other. So this is really relevant to our community and lives.

Violet (portrayed in the Towngate production by Judy Hennen) has given into the addiction, and it has become part of her life. And these are all prescription pills that she is obtaining legally. The play really shows that the face of addiction is not always what you suspect. It can affect anyone.

Hennen Gives Superb Performance as Violet

Speaking of Judy, I thought that her performance really carried the show and was the cornerstone of this production. Whenever she was on the stage, I was drawn to watching her and listening to what she would say. Violet Weston is not a character you root for or you even like, but she is certainly someone that is massively engaging and interesting. And Judy conveyed that in her superb performance.

By the time we get to the second and third acts of the play, the family is dealing with emotions and secrets that shake the family to its core. The entire cast does a fine job of telling a story that delivers some serious gut punches and pulls at the very center of your being.

Kudos to the entire cast: Aimee Kathleen Schultz, Abby Delk, Pete Fernbaugh, Brigitte Ann Donahie Mazure, Justin Swoyer, Rob DeSantis, Judy Hennen, John Reilly, Evan Oslund, CJ Farnsworth, Jeremy Richter, Vera Barton-Maxwell, and Dana Applegate, as well as Butch Maxwell, who is making his Towngate Theatre directorial debut with this show.

Do yourself a favor and go see it.

About “August: Osage County”

“August: Osage County” is a black comedy by American playwright Tracy Letts. Centering on a tense family reunion in a small Oklahoma town, the play is dominated by Violet Weston, an eccentric family matriarch who has a contentious relationship with her husband and children. When a family tragedy brings all the survivors together again, old wounds and hurts are reopened as the family is forced to confront its past and presence. It has been staged around the world and in 2013 was adapted into a star-studded feature film including Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, both of whom received Academy Award nominations.

Get Tickets

Remaining performances for Towngate Theater’s production of “August: Osage County” by Tracy Letts are May 18-19. Curtain is at 8pm.

Admission is $12.50/$11 OI members. Purchase tickets for this show or any Towngate show in advance at www.oionline.com, by calling 304-242-7700, or at the door, if available.

One of most amazing things about community theater is the actors who give their talent and time so that we can be entertained, moved and inspired. At Towngate Theatre, many talented people share their creative skills with us.

Actors new to the stage enter the realm of acting with a fresh face and vigor. Veteran actors honed their skills and bring a polished craft to their performances. John Reilly is just such a veteran, having acted on the stage at Towngate Theatre for more than 30 years. He plays Beverly Weston in Towngate’s current production of “August: Osage County,” which continues with shows this coming weekend.

A LIFELONG ACTOR

A current resident of Bethlehem, WV, John was born in Jersey City, NJ. Growing up in a military family, he spent his early life moving  to many different locations. John began acting and directing in 1964 while he was in college. In 1968, he began a 40-year career as an English, speech and theater teacher. Following his retirement from teaching, John took a job as a legal proofreader at Williams Lea, where he still works today, and he continues acting and directing.

John has graced the Towngate stage many times, having first performed here in “The Lion in Winter” in 1983. He has also directed at Towngate Theatre the past three seasons, for such productions as “Harvey,” “George Washington Slept Here,” and “Noises Off.” He was previously seen on the stage acting in “The Cripple of Inishmaan” at Towngate; “The Crucible” and “Prelude to a Kiss” at the Little Lake Theater in Canonsburg and “The Master Builder” at Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh.

ACTING IN “AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY”

John is joining a great cast in “August: Osage County,” the closing play of the 2017-2018 Towngate season. He plays Beverly Weston, the patriarch of the family. Beverly’s actions at the beginning of the play are the driving force behind the narrative.

John said the nature of the play was what drew him to audition for the show. “It’s a great actors’ play, requiring a genuine ensemble,” John said. “More and more I discover that what I love about theater is the sense of communion and the sense of teamwork—creative teamwork.”

LOVING THE SHOW MORE AND MORE

John said that, while he liked the show already, he has grown to love the show more and more over the course of rehearsals. “Every night, I hear a line or become aware of a character relationship that rings true,” John said. “And it gives me insight and expands my consciousness of what it is to be human. Nothing is fixed in how we perceive the reality of this family. They come together and they separate; they do the wrong thing, but we see that they do it because it’s what they think they need to do. And the remarkable thing is that we understand it. It’s too easy to label them as dysfunctional. They are functioning the best they can given the baggage they carry—just like the rest of us.”

John finds both similarities between himself and the character he is playing, but also stark differences. “He is an addict living with an addict and sees it as an arrangement,” John said of the character. “He lives in hell. I hope I’ve managed to sidestep that.”

When asked what he does when he is not performing, John said, “I used to say ‘read, travel, fine dining, museums’, but all of them pale next to sharing all of those things with friends.”

ABOUT THE PLAY

“August: Osage County” is a black comedy by American playwright Tracy Letts. Centering on a tense family reunion in a small Oklahoma town, the play is dominated by Violet Weston, an eccentric family matriarch who has a contentious relationship with her husband and children. When a family tragedy brings all the survivors together again, old wounds and hurts are reopened as the family is forced to confront its past and presence.

It has been staged around the world and in 2013 was adapted into a star-studded feature film including Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, both of whom received Academy Award nominations.

GET TICKETS AND SEE THE SHOW

Remaining performances for Towngate Theater’s production of “August: Osage County” by Tracy Letts are May 18-19. Curtain is at 8pm. Admission is $12.50/$11 OI members. Purchase tickets for this show or any Towngate show in advance at www.oionline.com, by calling 304-242-7700, or at the door, if available.