There are demons that families fight privately, then there are those that spill into their lives outside the home for everyone to see. 

For the fictional Weston family of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, the implosion of their family is depicted for all to see in Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County, which makes its Fort Wayne debut at the Three Rivers Music Theatre through Sept. 10 at their new space at 416 W. 4th St.

Sensitive topics

There are a number of sensitive topics addressed for which the 2013 film version earned an R rating. 

This subject matter may be triggering for some and bears mentioning. The production depicts drinking, drug use, and addiction, as well as suicide. The production also features vulgar language in abundance, and many sexual references, among them references to incest and rape. 

The play is billed as a tragicomedy, which would be an accurate description. There are numerous often self-deprecating jokes throughout, and to be frank they really help to shine a light in some very dark moments. 

August: Osage County often feels more tragedy than comedy. 

Combative family

The story begins with patriarch Beverly Weston (Bob Haluska) interviewing a live-in housekeeper named Johnna (Triniti McFarland), who will not only keep the house, but also care for Violet (Kate Black), who suffers from oral cancer and is addicted to prescription drugs. After a brief encounter with an incoherent and combative Violet, Johnna accepts the position and moves into the attic.

At the beginning of Act 1, we find Beverly and his boat have been missing for five days, and the family has gathered to support Violet while she awaits news. Among them are her daughter Ivy (Hayley Johnson), her sister Mattie Fae (Ranae Butler), and brother-in-law Charlie (Nol Beckley). 

Violet vacillates between popping pills, calling rescue services, and sniping at anyone within her vision. 

They are later joined by oldest daughter Barbara (Jen Poiry), her husband Bill (Dan Ambrose), and their 14-year-old daughter Jean (Bella Hadley). Barbara, who has mixed feelings about returning home due to the confrontational relationship with her mother, is almost immediately involved in an argument with Violet. 

Later in the evening, Barbara and Bill squabble over the causes of their secret separation and potential divorce while their daughter takes the opportunity to smoke marijuana and vent her frustrations to Johnna.

The act ends with Sheriff Deon Gilbeau (Joe Hyndman) coming to ask a family member to identify Beverly’s body, found at the bottom of the lake. Barbara agrees, and Bill accompanies her. Meanwhile, Violet comes downstairs in a drug-induced state and spirals into confusion.

Black is a force as Violet. The role demands incredible range, from sweetness and poignancy, to uncontrollable rage and drug-induced delirium. She hits every mark with skill. Her physicality and emotional control are nothing short of phenomenal. 

More and more conflict

We pick up the story in Act 2, just after Beverly’s funeral. 

Johnna has prepared a funeral dinner for the family including the newly arrived youngest daughter Karen (Renee Gonzales) and her new fiancé Steve (Brock Graham) as well as Mattie Fae and Charlie’s son “Little Charles” (Chandler Chastain) who has missed the funeral by oversleeping, much to his mother’s chagrin. 

Karen prattles on about nothing but wedding plans, which annoys Barbara. Meanwhile, Steve, after discovering that Jean smokes pot, flirts lewdly with her offering to share his stash, and Ivy and “Little Charles,” who are secretly in a relationship, share an intimate moment. Once around the dining table, all hell breaks loose.  

Poiry’s Barbara matches Black’s energy as Violet. While not as physically demanding, the role of Barbara easily requires as much emotional range as that of Violet, and Poiry rises to the occasion. 

The emotional range shown by Poiry in the role is incredible, rage and tears, heartache and mirth, all played with deep focus and intensity. 

In Act 3, many secrets are shared, but you’ll have to see for yourself. 

To call August: Osage County a heavy play would be an understatement. It is not designed for a fun night out. 

However, while the subject matter is, at times, difficult to watch, it was by no means due to the performances of those who were on stage. The entire cast was excellent. They connected as an ensemble to really make the family relationships, however fractured, believable. 

The performance takes a hard look at what is important, and that is something everyone should do from time to time. Fort Wayne, this production is a great opportunity to do just that.