BWW Flashback: Tracy Letts' Greatest Moments on Stage and Screen
Let's catch up on all things Letts...
By: A.A. Cristi Feb. 24, 2020
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Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner Tracy Letts returns to Broadway for the second time this season with The Minutes, in which he not only stars, but also wrote.
The record-breaking hit production from Steppenwolf Theatre Company takes a look at the inner-workings of a city council meeting in the small town of Big Cherry-and the hypocrisy, greed, and ambition that follow. "Nothing in this explosive 90-minute play is as it seems...A real-life heart-in-the-mouth experience," declares the Chicago Tribune. This powerful, resonant, and funny portrayal of democracy in action proves that everything you know can change-it's just a matter of minutes. After all, the smallest towns keep the biggest secrets.
Just last fall, Letts made his first appearance back on Broadway as a playwright in a decade with Linda Vista. Before that, his last authorial Broadway outing was with the play Superior Donuts, which began its run exactly ten years earlier. Since then, Tracy has kept very busy with a full slate of theatre, television, and film projects that have made him one of the most sought after writers and actors of his generation.
Before his latest work hits the boards on Broadway, let's see how this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning artist has been spending his time in the decade since his last work took its final New York bow.
Tracy returns to Broadway this Spring in The Minutes, which begins performances February 25 at the Cort Theatre.
In December, Tracy appeared in Greta Gerwig's Little Women, portraying Mr. Dashwood, as well as a turn as Henry Ford II in Ford vs. Ferrari. Also in the pipeline is Letts' first screenplay not adapted from one of his works, a film titled The Woman in the Window, which is set to hit screens in 2020.
In early 2019, Letts appeared in Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons, starring opposite Annette Bening and Benjamin Walker at the American Airlines Theatre.
In 2017, Letts starred opposite Saoirse Ronan and Laurie Metcalf in Greta Gerwig's acclaimed film Lady Bird. Letts played Larry, the empathetic and deeply non-confrontational father of the title character. Along with the rest of the cast, Letts was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture.
2017 also saw the debut of Letts' latest work to hit the Broadway stage, Linda Vista, which ran at Steppenwolf Theatre in Spring 2017. The play received its Los Angeles premiere at Center Theatre Group in the Mark Taper Forum in February 2019, before announcing a Broadway transfer.
In the years since his last outing as Broadway playwright, Letts' has also penned several other titles including an adaptation of Chekhov's Three Sisters and new works including The Stretch, and Mary Page Marlowe.
In the same year, Letts appeared in the film The Lovers and Steven Spielberg's Oscar-nominated journalism drama, The Post, joining an ensemble that included Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Sarah Paulson, and Bradley Whitford.
Letts has written the screenplays for two feature films based on his plays: Killer Joe, helmed by Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin who also directed the 2006 adaptation of his play Bug, and a film adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, August: Osage County, starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
Letts appeared opposite Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church, and Molly Shannon on the HBO series Divorce. In 2018, Letts joined the second season of USA Network's crime series The Sinner opposite Bill Pullman and his wife, Carrie Coon.
In January 2016, CBS ordered a pilot based on Superior Donuts, which starred Jermaine Fowler and Brian d'Arcy James in the lead roles. The TV series debuted in February 2017, with Judd Hirsch replacing d'Arcy James in the role of Arthur. Other cast members included Katey Sagal, David Koechner, Maz Jobrani, Anna Baryshnikov, Darien Sills-Evans, and Rell Battle.
Like the play, the series focused on a donut shop owner, Arthur Przybyszewski and Franco, his good-natured, yet troubled young black assistant who aims to update the business with modern music and healthier food options.
On May 12, 2018, Superior Donuts was cancelled after 2 seasons.
Througout 2016, Letts starred in several independent films including Todd Solondz's dark comedy Wiener-Dog, Liza Johnson's Elvis & Nixon, Christine, Imperium, and the film adaptation of the Philip Roth novel, Indignation.
In 2015, Letts joined Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale, and Brad Pitt in the acclaimed film take on the 2008 housing crisis, The Big Short.
From 2013-2014, Letts appeared as as US Senator Andrew Lockhart on Showtime's Emmy Award-winning Homeland in seasons 3 and 4. He was nominated with the rest of the cast for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble.
In 2012, Letts earned acclaim and the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his Broadway acting debut, starring opposite Amy Morton in the revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Booth Theatre.
In 2014, Letts returned to Broadway, joining Toni Collette, Marisa Tomei, and Michael C. Hall in Will Eno's The Realistic Joneses.
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