August: Osage County Now at the Music Box

It's rare enough for me to see a play in the first place, let alone see that particular play more than once. But when I saw August: Osage County at the Imperial, I was tremendously impressed and thoroughly entertained. However Deanna Dunagan, who plays the monstrous matriarch, was out for that performance. Understudy Susanne Marley was strong, but I got the sense that I was really missing something special not having seen Dunagan.

And since the show I was supposed to have seen that night (Glory Days: RIP) had closed on its opening night the previous Tuesday, I was at first at a bit of a loss as to what to see on Friday. I briefly contemplated taking in the lovely A Catered Affair again. I also considered The 39 Steps, but all that was left at TKTS was obstructed view. No thanks. The guy said he had a great seat for August, so I bit.

I'm really glad that I did. I still think the play is a bit too pat: everyone has a dirty little secret, and all is revealed in the end. But a friend of mine had an interesting take on this: August in this respect is like a Roy Lichtenstein painting, or some other Pop Art piece. It represents a heightened reality, a sort of compressed, close-up, ironic view of modernity. The fact that Tracy Letts's play seemingly showcases every social malady imaginable isn't meant to be realistic, but rather a sort of exaggerated microcosm for our age.

An interesting perspective, although I'm not entirely sure I buy it. All I know is that the play is enormously compelling and perversely entertaining, and it has the finest ensemble of actors I've seen in many a season. Deanna Dunagan's performance was very different from that of Susanne Marley, although each was effective in her own way. Dunagan brings a keener sense of confidence to the role, although I found I was more moved by Marley. That's probably because I saw her first, and didn't have any sense of expectation.

I must say there are pros and cons to the production having moved from the Imperial to the Music Box. The latter is far more intimate: about 1,000 seats to the Imperial's 1,400. But the stage at the Music Box seemed a bit wider, which spread the action further apart. This might simply be because at the Imperial I was in the center orchestra while at the Music Box I was orchestra left, but I really felt that stuff happening stage left was less immediate. I got the definite sense that while one side of the audience was reacting to the comedy, the other side seemed to be missing something. (I just checked and it turns out the Music Box stage is actually narrower than the one at the Imperial. Go figure. My perceptions were likely skewed by my audience-left perspective.)

Oh, and one final note of annoyance: there was a woman sitting in front of me who quite obviously wasn't enjoying the show, and made sure everyone around her knew it. She was particularly perturbed at the length of the show, and made it a point to conspicuously check her watch, sigh loudly, and a couple times even say things like "When is this thing going to end?" and "Come one, get it over with." Listen, bitch: you're not required to like the show, nor are you obliged to stay. But you have NO right whatsoever to ruin the moment for the people around you. The show is three hours and twenty minutes long, a fact made clear in numerous places available to the theater-going public. Your choices are: shut up or leave.

Here endeth the sermon.

Comments

[Steve On Broadway (SOB)]

Something tells me the woman in front of you would have enjoyed "Gone With The Wind - The Musical".... Just a hunch.