Phylicia Rashad is a Mother, a Sister and a brilliant mess!

Not only did AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY win the Tony Award for Best Play in 2008, it also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama that year. I saw the show several times in 2008 before and after it won the awards. I was fascinated with the complexity of the play and the complexity of the acting. Both making it one of the most enjoyable (nearly 3 1/2 hours) evenings I have spent in the theatre. It was one of those plays that left me hungry for more. It could have gone on and on and I would have been just as fascinated.

I have told so many people to see this show since it opened. But as most shows that play for awhile I had thought I haven't seen it in awhile and I am not sure how it is holding up. So when I heard Phyllicia Rashad was taking over the role of Violet Weston I thought this is the perfect time to revisit. Especially since my first reaction was of shock that Rashad would be playing the Mother of this family of 3 white girls in Oklahoma.

I won't go on and on, but let me just say that Rashad is nearly brilliant as Violet Weston. Very quickly after her first entrance you suddenly realize that she is the Mother of the house and it doesn't matter what her race is.

Also other wonderful new additions to the cast are Elizabeth Ashley as her Sister and John Cullum as her Husband. The dynamics of this play are so strong as long as it has good actors in it, it seems almost anyone could play these roles. Watching again last I night, I just kept thinking no wonder this won the Pulitzer for Drama it is just so well written. There is something for every family to identify with, disfunctional or not. If you like great acting, don't wait...get your tickets now. APPLAUSE will get you great seats and they are available at great prices too.

H. Todd Freeman
Vice President/Operations
Applause Theatre & Entertainment Service, Inc.
311 West 43rd Street, Ste 601 New York, NY 10036
http://www.applause-tickets.com/
212-307-7050/800-451-9930