Tuesday, June 17, 2008

August: Amended

I'd like to amend my previous post, in which I dumped lavish praise onto August: Osage County. For the record, I do think it is deserving of acclaim. Even prizes, I guess, for whatever they are worth. (They're worthless, I think, in esteem. But artists can always use prize money, so there's that.) However, as I get farther away from it, I've started to be less enchanted with the play itself. It's seeming a bit showy.

I'm finding it hard to examine what it is, exactly, that's turning me off. Nothing I can put my finger on. The performances are truly stellar, this is undeniable. But there's something overdone about the whole thing, and it's true that there are some ideas that aren't fully fleshed out--the Native American in the attic is a bit much, for example. It's just that kind of play, I guess--loud, talky, operatic in emotional flare ups. But you gotta hand it to them for trying.

1 comment:

dpaste said...

I agree somewhat. The play, once you get some distance, takes on almost too much for the sake of emotional pyrotechnics. But, as you say, it's still a damn good ride.