‘August: Osage County’ at the Ahmanson Theatre
Tracy Letts’ “August: Osage County” continues a long line of dramas, stretching back to the ancient Greeks, that uses a tale of a family in crisis as a window onto the state of the larger society. In the touring presentation now at the Ahmanson, Estelle Parsons, left, portrays the matriarch of a proudly individualistic, now disintegrating Oklahoma family; Angelica Torn plays her middle daughter. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
The Weston family’s matriarch has cancer; the patriarch has abruptly disappeared. Yet as the rest of the family gathers to cope with the crisis, it’s every man and woman for him/herself. Gathered on a couch are Angelica Torn, left, as the middle daughter; Libby George as the matriarch’s sister, Mattie Fae; and Paul Vincent O’Connor as Mattie Fae’s husband. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
On the couch, sisters played by Libby George, left, and Estelle Parsons form a temporary nucleus. The touring cast in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s acclaimed production also includes, from left, Paul Vincent O’Connor, Angelica Torn, DeLanna Studi, Emily Kinney, Shannon Cochran and Jeff Still. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
The return home dredges up years of conflict for the oldest daughter, portrayed by Shannon Cochran. Her husband, played by Jeff Still, tries to be supportive, but their own relationship is rotting at the foundation. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
Family dynamics are forever fluctuating as the Westons hunker down to face whatever lies ahead. Their ranks are played by, from left, Paul Vincent O’Connor, Emily Kinney, Estelle Parsons, Shannon Cochran, Jeff Still and Libby George. The production, directed by Anna D. Shapiro, continues through Oct. 18 at the Ahmanson. (Christine Cotter / Los Angeles Times)
