Leslie Brott as Violet Weston.
Wildly comic and deeply moving this searing family drama will stay with you for days after, playing September 6- 28, 2019
Cincinnati, August 8, 2019 – Cincinnati Shakespeare Company continues its 2019-2020 Season of the Woman at The Otto M. Budig Theater with Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County. The production is directed by Producing Artistic Director, Brian Isaac Phillips, and features a 13 person cast with CSC returning favorites Leslie Brott as Violet Weston, and Corinne Mohlenhoff, as Weston’s eldest daughter, Barbara Fordham.
This Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning family drama centers around Violet, the pill-addicted and scathingly manipulative matriarch of the Weston family. When her husband disappears, the rest of the clan is brought together for an unexpected reunion where old wounds are reopened and buried secrets brought to light. By turns vicious, funny, harrowing, and heartbreaking, August: Osage County is an American classic in the making.
August: Osage County is a play by Tracy Letts. Written in 2007, August: Osage County first premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on June 28, 2007. The following year, the play received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play and has since been performed across the country. It was made into a film starring Meryl Streep as Violet and Julia Roberts as Barbara in 2013. The NY Sun wrote, “Packed with unforgettable characters and dozens of quotable lines, August: Osage County is a tensely satisfying comedy, interspersed with remarkable evocations on the cruelties and (occasional) kindnesses of family life” while NY Newsday wrote “This is a play that will leave us laughing and wondering, shuddering and smiling, long after the house lights come back on.”
CSC is very pleased to welcome guest actor, Isabella Star LaBlanc from Minnesota. LaBlanc is making her Cincinnati Shakespeare debut as the pivotal role, Johnna, a Cheyenne woman hired to care for Violet and the Weston home. LaBlanc was one of twelve selected nationally for CBS’s Drama Diversity Casting Initiative. CSC would also like to respectfully acknowledge the Osage, Shawnee, and Miami People who have stewarded the land we are currently located on throughout the generations. The land of present-day Cincinnati, once home to the Osage Nation, is the same nation from which the location and title of August: Osage County are drawn.
The creative team transforming The Otto M. Budig Theater stage into a well-worn, American family home is made up of Shannon Moore (Scenic Designer), Justen N. Locke (Lighting Designer), Douglas J. Borntrager (Sound Designer), Clara Jean Kelly (Costume Designer), and D’Arcy Smith (Dialect Coach). They are joined by Intimacy and Fight Director, Alicia Rodis.
August: Osage County runs September 6-28, 2019 with performances on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM, as well as Saturday September 28 at 2:00 PM. Preview performances are Wednesday, September 4th and Thursday, September 5th at 7:30 PM and tickets are $45. Advance sale single ticket prices start at $28. Day-of Student Rush tickets are $14 and may be purchased thirty minutes before a show with a valid student ID if available. This production is a part of this season’s subscription package. Visa, Discover, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Ticketing fees apply. To purchase tickets or for more information, call the CSC Box Office at 513.381.BARD (2273) ext. 1, or go online at www.cincyshakes.com.
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is located at The Otto M. Budig Theater at 1195 Elm Street in OTR, adjacent to Washington Park. There are many parking spaces available on the street and in nearby lots and garages- for more information visit http://www.otrchamber.com/pages/WheretoPark.
CSC also offers Valet Parking for every performance! Make reservations for $20 in advance when purchasing tickets or visit www.cincyshakes.com/parking. Purchasing in advance guarantees a spot. Valet is available right at the corner of 12th and Elm Street in front of the theater and begins approx. 1.5 hours before a performance. Cars can be picked up for up to one hour following a performance. (After one hour, you will need to arrange pick up with the valet service directly.) The valet will have your name on the list after you purchase- it’s that easy!
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About Cincinnati Shakespeare Company:
Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is a professional theatre company dedicated to bringing Shakespeare and the classics to life for audiences of all ages. In the summer of 2017, the theater relocated to the Otto M. Budig Theater, a brand new facility in OTR. CSC’s repertoire is made up of the works of William Shakespeare, literary adaptations, and contemporary classics. CSC performs on a Small Professional Theatre contract with Actors’ Equity Association. Cincinnati Shakespeare is a member of the Theater Communications Group and the Shakespeare Theatre Association. Each year, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s Education and Outreach Programs reach over 50,000 young people and underserved community members each season by taking Shakespeare into schools, parks, community centers and by hosting educational matinees of mainstage productions. In 2015, CSC was proud to become one of the first five theaters in the United States to “Complete the Canon” by producing all 38 plays by William Shakespeare. CSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company is proud to be Cincinnati’s stage for the classics!
About The 2019-2020 Season of the Woman:
From June of 1919 to August of 1920, these United States passed and ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. In commemoration of this centennial, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company will shine the spotlight on the Women of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in our “Season of the Woman”, both onstage and off, and join organizations across the city in an ArtsWave led initiative called “Power of Her” to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage!
August: Osage County is sponsored by Central Bank and Halo. The season is generously sponsored by The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation. This season is also funded by ArtsWave. Cincinnati Shakespeare Company receives operating support from The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, JR./U.S. Bank Foundation, The Ohio Arts Council, and The Shubert Foundation. The season’s marketing design sponsor is Grey Midwest. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program/organization with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Production dates and information on the season are available online at www.cincyshakes.com.
About POWER OF HER:
POWER OF HER is a collaboration of organizations across the Greater Cincinnati region, united to activate and amplify women’s voices in the arts. Led by ArtsWave, and inspired by the women’s suffrage movement, the initiative salutes the women who came before us, and honors female leadership and woman-centric works of all kinds.
At its core, POWER OF HER underscores creativity as a vehicle for inclusion and equality by celebrating the female voice — and the many ways it champions a more diverse and vibrant world. Learn more at https://www.artswave.org/discover/power-of-her
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