Theatre I Live For....

Thursday was full of blessings.

First I met with Rebecca Patterson who is directing Wapato the first show of the Women's Project's season. We clicked immediately. She owns her own company called the Queens Company which performs the classics with casts entirely made of women. Since Shakespeare's companies were composed of all men, this is an interesting contemporary approach to his works (however, Shakespeare is not exclusively the only classic playwright they perform). To read more about Rebecca's compancy please check out their webside at http://www.queenscompany.org

What I liked about Rebecca was that she had a life before directing found her. She was raised in Alberta, Canada by academic hippes. She moved around a lot and has a degree in microbiology. She loves table work works quickly in rehearsal. We moved into many different topis besides theatre. After an hour and a half, she says that she loves my energy, had read through my academic vitae prior to meeting and would like to offer me the assistant director position.

I am thrilled with this opportunity because I am allowed to extend my relationship with the Women's Project and work with a new director. Also, the position works with my information gathering on the Bogart elements. My first assignment is to bring historical research on Crazy Horse, a character in the play, to the table.

After I walked her to the space where she was auditioning, I headed up to the Drama Bookshop to buy all the copies of of Bogart's Seven Essays to give to those who agree to meet with me, when the interviews begin.

I bought a ticket to Tracy Lett's new play August Osage County. A couple of years ago I saw another play of his Bug at the Barrow Street Theatre. It was jarring. When I return home, I will have to review the journal in which I responded to that performance. Tracy is from the Midwest; in fact, he was in Sioux Falls in 2000 when Julia and I hosted KCACTF at Augie and USF. At that time, he was just being "discovered" for his play Man from Nebraska. Frankly, I know that he was in my home at one point, and I had numerous meals with him; however, due to the exhausting and overwhelming demands of the week, I have little to no memory of him. Since this time, he has moved on to be one of the most celebrated playwrights of this decade.

August: Osage County is the best play that I have since Wit at Union Square in 1998. This may be the boldest statement that I have ever said as a patron of theatre, but I believe that this play may mark Lett's as the Tennessee Williams of the Midwest. I laughed hysterically and sobbed unexpectantly. This play was long (3.5 hours with 2 intermissions), but the audience was entranced. Afterwards, everyone left in silence and so many of us just stood outside on 45th Street quietly for a long time. Then, we all began talking at once. Phenomenal, amazing, poignant, heartbreaking, smart, dynamic were just some of the adjectives I heard as people tried to discribe it.

I didn't know if the character of the eldest daughter, Barbara, played by Amy Morton spoke to me or for me. Her performance was brilliant. If she doesn't win the Tony next June, I may have to rethink if I know anything about art. The last line of the second act is hers, "I'm in charge now!" Does that sound like me or what? Also, I recognized the fraility of one's life as she bounced between family negotiations, hometown definitions and hot flashes. The other truly amazing performance was given by Deanna Dunagan who plays the mother Violet. Her monologue that ends Act One and her speech at the funeral dinner were moments of brilliance.

August: Osage County is another Steppenwolf production that proves that New York has nothing on Chicago theatre. The last production Steppenwolf brought to nyc was the 2001 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Amy Morton (my new favority actor) was Nurse Ratched in that production which featured Gary Sinise. I would really encourage everyone to click on the August: Osage County website if for no other reason to see the photo of the set at http://www.augustonbroadway.com.

The only weakness in the performance was in the development and - unfortunately - delivery of Kimberly Guerrero as the Native American housekeeper Johnna. The stoic stereotype did not allow for true character development, and it left a hole in the script. It is still in previews, so things may change. There is no doubt that I will go see it again once it opens, and I encourage anyone coming to the city to do the same.