Praise for 'August: Osage County'
From October 10-13, the MCCTA program created a world that was not the Nelly at Marist, but instead the Weston household amidst the steaming, Oklahoma summer.
August: Osage County by Tracy Letts is a comedic drama that demands laughter through tears. The play presents an Oklahoma family reunited only by the disappearance of its patriarch, Beverly Weston (Nicholas Donahue ‘23).
Directed by Christine Crawfis, these students put on a beautiful and seamless performance — both on and behind stage.
The storyline follows a family that is reluctantly brought together, while forbidden secrets and true characters emerge in a waves of tension and violence. The show deals with heavy topics such as racism, death, incest, drugs, alcohol, and addiction through the lens of a completly broken family.
August: Osage County also exemplifies the unbreakable, cyclical nature of family habits by paralleling characters who want nothing more than to be unalike, but find themselves identical.
With a small cast of thirteen students, from freshmen to seniors, and a relatively minimalistic set, the vibrant and unforgettably unique characters ignited the stage. The show itself was visually stimulating due to the excellent direction and unusual arrangement of movement.
For example, there were scenes in which explosive action was happening on one side of the stage, yet other characters were also located center stage, stagnantly watching TV or reading. Naturally, your eyes would be drawn to the center because it is intrinsically the most important area of the stage, however, it was impossible to look away from the explosive action off center.
High tension points were also punctuated with comedic relief that forced laughter, even though every heart in the theater was pounding with suspense.
Not only was the performance without error, but the performers brought their characters to astounding heights. Lydia Deluca ‘20 as Violet Weston had a particularly memorable performance, as she created a character that your heart could not help but break for because of her obvious downward spiral into addiction and mental instability.
Her inappropriate outbreaks during family dinners and off color comments about Native Americans and even her own family were extremely uncomfortable to sit through, which added an element of realism and emotional attachment to both the show and character. Harper Anne Finch ‘22 as Barbara Fordham gave her complex character a clear downfall into a dangerously similar behavioral pattern to her almost senile mother that she desperately wished she could either help or be rid of. Her daughter Jean (Rianna Makow ‘21) and husband Bill Fordham (Jason Kopp ‘22) excelled in providing the needed comedic relief .
Brielle Wheeler ‘20 as Ivy Weston and Jonathan Arkay ‘23 as “Little” Charles Aiken portrayed their characters’ romantic involvement as first cousins that we find out to be half-siblings with convincing maturity.
Amanda Dettmann ‘20 as Karen Weston heart-wrenchingly revealed her character’s true colors when she refused to place blame on her fiance, Steve Heidebrecht’s Logan Monaco ‘21, sexual advance on her young niece, Jean Fordham. Monaco made the audience quite uncomfortable with his disgusting comments and advances on an underaged girl, which is definitely not as easy task, yet was extremely well done.
Caitlyn DeCaprio ‘20 as Mattie Fae Aiken was another wonderful performance. DeCaprio was immaculate, with not a weak link her acting, costume, or stage presence. Honestly, it was as if that character jumped out of the original script and masqueraded as a Marist student. Josh Socher ‘20 as Charlie Aiken hilariously carried along some crucial moments of comic relief throughout the entire show either with his own comments, or by being humiliated by his wife; we all were rooting for his own moment of triumph over DeCaprio, too.
Maritza Puzino ‘20 as Johnna Monevata witnessed an extreme example of family, which serves as irony because of Johnna’s own deceased family. Puzino maintained a ubiquitous presence, almost as a fly-on-the-wall type perspective.
Aside from the acting, the crew for this production heightened its quality. The sound and lighting crew designed captivating work for the show, and the costuming was equally as enhancing and superb. It is clear that the professional faculty are well-trained and vastly experienced, and that the students that worked on this set are professionals in the making.
Despite the laughs blurted throughout the show, the ending left the audience speechless. Family members left the Weston house one after the other for the last time. Each of them left on permanently terrible terms with another, and the family was finally obliterated. Violet is left, totally alone, without a husband or daughters, accompanied only by her deteriorating mental state and relentless addiction.