There’s the goofiness of Blondie and Dagwood. There’s the famous marriage of Liz and Dick (Taylor and Burton).
And then there’s the monumental sadness and difficulty of just being a family in Tracy Letts’ classic “August: Osage County,” in a brilliant staging through Sept. 16 by Backyard Renaissance Theatre Company at downtown’s Tenth Avenue Arts Center.
Assembled here are many of the brightest lights of San Diego theater, portraying different parts of a large, unruly Oklahoma family that just can’t seem to find a place to be or a thing to do that works.
“Life is very long,” says one, quoting author T.S. Eliot. So is this play: three acts and about 2-1/2 hours, in fact.
But don’t let that stop you. If you’re not familiar with the play, don’t worry. Just sit back and enjoy the fabulous multilevel and very complicated set (designed by Tony Cucuzzella), Jessica John Gercke’s just-right costumes and Erik Montierth’s excellent lighting.
There’s a lot of cigarette smoking, pill-popping and marijuana use in this large family.
At the beginning we meet Johnna Monevata (Faith Carrion), hired by Beverly Weston, a once-famous poet, to take care of his wife Violet, being treated for mouth cancer.
The family is run, so to speak, by pill-popping matriarch Violet Weston (Deborah Gilmour Smyth), whose husband Beverly (Robert Smyth) disappears early on. This does not seem to bother control freak Violet much; she just wants to get her daughters married off to suitable men. And she’s willing to do just about anything to accomplish this.
The overall plot is too long and complicated to explain here, and it doesn’t really matter to this reviewer. Just know that this play won four 2008 prizes for Best Play: Pulitzer, Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award.
This is a terrific production by all involved. There isn’t a weak link in the chain. Do yourself a favor and see this show. Just be prepared for length.
The details
“August: Osage County” runs through Sept. 16, 2023 at the Tenth Avenue Arts Center, 930 Tenth Avenue, San Diego.
Ticket prices: $18 previews, $32-40 for show run
Shows Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
Tickets: www.BackyardRenaissance.com
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