Ghost Light Monday -- August: Osage County

With all the Tony and Pulitzer hoopla surrounding the Broadway production of August: Osage County coming out of Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater Company, I took myself over to my favorite book emporium to buy a copy of the script, which has been published by the Theater Communications Group.

It brought me back to my theater days in college, reading scripts for study. It also brought me back to my college days because I had a course looking at the plays of Sam Shepard. Tracy Letts's Osage County falls in line with some of Shepard's later works, particularly Buried Child. I'm certainly not the first to point out this similarity.

Perhaps it is the differences from Shepard that kept Osage interesting. Letts's characters are more verbose than Shepard's, and while they are equally venomous, the slurs in Osage are more distilled--not necessarily less potent, but boiled down to their essence, usually to humorous effect. Letts's Weston family is also smarter and more well-read (or at least well-quoted). I was also reminded of some of Lanford Wilson's family dramas; while less sentimental then Wilson, the quirkiness of some of the Weston family may be descended from Fifth of July.

For those not familiar with the work of Steppenwolf, they are an ensemble company with a long history of success in plays by both Wilson and Shepard. Early company productions of Hot l Baltimore, True West and Buried Child received wide notice, and Buried Child was transferred to New York. Acclaim for Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf, and Joan Allen (all early Steppenwolf ensemble members) brought these actors to the national forefront.

With Letts, the company has found a Chicago-based playwright, whose knowledge of the Steppenwolf style and strengths of the ensemble members can focus a new generation of the company and help shepherd Steppenwolf through its third decade.

Ghost Light Monday -- The 2008 Tony Awards

Well, my Year couldn't progress without comment on the 2008 Tony Awards, which were broadcast last night on CBS. It was a very good night for Chicago theater, as August: Osage County was a big winner. This show started its life at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Acting awards went to Osage cast members Rondi Reed and Deanna Dunagan, two long-time Chicago actresses. I've met both women, and worked on a show with Deanna about a decade ago, and it was gratifying and inspiring to see both of them recognized. Osage director Anna D. Shapiro also was awarded the Tony for best direction of a play. I wonder how many women previously have won that award ? Osage was also selected as best play, and playwright Tracy Letts gave a funny thank you speech.

In other Chicago theater Tony news, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre was given the regional Tony Award, and the broadcast showed a brief clip from CST Artistic Director Barbara Gaines's thank you speech. Chicago-bred actress Laurie Metcalf was also nominated for an acting award.

The broadcast seemed to go off without any great faux pas. I enjoyed the enthusiasm Whoopi Goldberg brought to the hosting duties, even if her casual style was not quite what I expect from these ceremonies.

The most interesting aspect of the night for me were the performances and nominations of Passing Strange and In the Heights. These are clearly shows that have broken from the mold of previous Broadway musicals, both in their musical styles and performance styles. Tony voters must have appreciated that ground-breaking as they awarded In the Heights with best musical and best score. Best book of musical when to Passing Strange. But the acting awards in a musical went to performers in very traditional revivals (Paulo Szot in South Pacific; Patti LuPone, Boyd Gaines, and Laura Benanti in Gypsy).

Other Tony things that were nice to see: Arthur Laurents, nominated for direction of Gypsy, for which he wrote the book nearly 50 years ago. Mr. Laurents will be 90 in July and is a living (and apparently still vital) connection to the Golden Age of Broadway. Several years ago, I read Mr. Laurents's memoir, Original Story: a memoir of Broadway and Hollywood, and I can highly recommend it, particulary as the story of a gay man during the era of Blacklisting.