August: Osage County's Original Stars Headed Down Under
Eight of the original Broadway stars of Tracy Letts’ Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County, including Amy Morton and Tony winners Deanna Dunagan and Rondi Reed, will reprise their roles for a six-week run at the Sydney Theatre Company. Directed by Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro, the production will run August 13-September 25 at the Sydney Theatre, with opening night set for August 17.
The Sydney cast includes Gary Cole (Steve Heidebrecht), Deanna Dunagan (Violet Weston), Kimberly Guerrero (Johnna Monevata), Mariann Mayberry (Karen Weston), Amy Morton (Barbara Fordham), Sally Murphy (Ivy Weston), Paul Vincent O'Connor (Charlie Aiken), Jeff Perry (Bill Fordham), Molly Ranson (Jean Fordham), Rondi Reed (Mattie Fae Aiken), Chelcie Ross (Beverly Weston), Troy West (Sheriff Deon Gilbeau) and Gary Wilmes (Little Charles). Dunagan, Guerrero, Mayberry, Morton, Murphy, Perry, Reed and West opened in the Broadway production of the epic drama.
August: Osage County centers on the Westons, a large extended family that comes together at their Oklahoma homestead after the disappearance of the family patriarch. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the clan must also contend with matriarch Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the eye of the storm.
Actress Cate Blanchett and her husband, Andrew Upton, serve as artistic directors of Sydney Theatre Company. “We’re really pleased to present Australian audiences with the opportunity to experience members of the Steppenwolf ensemble in August: Osage County,” Upton said in a statement. Echoed Blanchett, “This extraordinary company visits Sydney with the original production of what will be the next American classic.”
After its premiere at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, August: Osage County opened on Broadway on December 4, 2007, and went on to win the 2008 Best Play Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize during a run that ended on June 28, 2009. The production played a sold-out eight week engagement at London’s National Theatre.
