We had not heard much about August and really not expecting much. The poster and subject matter seemed dreary and boring. Our expectations were far from the actual experience of this play. It takes place in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, 60 miles northwest of Tulsa. It is about family dynamics when the father decides to kill himself by disappearing into his favorite fishing lake. The mother is played brilliantly by Estelle Parsons and I don't think it would have been the same with any other actress. She seems helpless as she deals with her alcoholism and prescription medication but she rules the lives of her sister and children with an iron, unrelenting hand. Several times throughout the play, I wasn't quite sure if I hated her or felt sorry for her.
The play was teeming with hard-core raw emotions, visceral at times and one yearns for the family relationships some of us deal with in our own reality. Some of us have somewhat tame lives, not as heart pounding, screaming, sobbing out loud drama created for entertainment and thought-provoking experiences. Again, brilliant acting by Estelle Parsons, but the whole cast kept up with her and gave a dynamic performance.
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