AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Plays Alley Theatre, 2/23-3/13

Starting this month on the Hubbard stage is the Alley Theatre's powerful new production of Tracy's Lett's August: Osage County. This grand, gripping new play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play as well as the Drama Desk Award for Best New Play, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play. Tracy Letts' August: Osage County tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their Oklahoma home when the patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and secrets, the family must also contend with Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of this storm. This powerful production exposes relationships between unforgettable characters who present themselves with unflinching honesty. Recommended for mature audience, ages 16+. Contains profanity, mature themes, sexuality and drug use.

Variety describes August: Osage County as a "very juicy...epic evening... (a) richly entertaining dysfunctional-family juggles the hilarious, the poignant and the appalling on a scale seldom seen." Los Angeles Times says it is "sensationally entertaining...a feast for actors and audiences alike." Time Magazine named it the "#1 Show of the Year!"

August: Osage County, by Tracy Letts and directed by Jackson Gay (Alley Theatre's Intelligence-Slave) begins previews Friday, February 18, opens Wednesday, February 23 and runs through Sunday, March 13, 2011 on the Hubbard Stage.

The 13 member cast features Louisa Flaningam as Mattie Fae Aiken, Sarah Gay as Johnna Monevata, Jennifer Harmon as Violet Weston and Eva Kaminsky as Ivy Weston. All four actors are making their Alley debuts.

Louisa Flaningam (Mattie Fae Aiken) is celebrating 43 years as a professional actress. Her career has taken her from Fastrada in Bob Fosse's Pippin (National Tour) to Driving Miss Daisy (Barrymore Award Nomination). She played the overbearing matriarch, Aunt March, in the National Tour of Little Women with Maureen McGovern. Her Broadway credits include General Cartwright in the 1992 revival of Guys and Dolls, Charmin in The Magic Show and Play Me a Country Song. National Tours include Laurel in Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy, I Love My Wife with The Smothers Brothers and Marta in Company. She has performed in the premiere of William Kennedy's Grand View and at Theatre Under the Stars as Meg in Damn Yankees with Tony Randal.

Sarah Gay (Johnna Monevata), a recent Texas transplant, has appeared onstage in Metamorphoses and the Grapes of Wrath at ZACH theatre, John & Jen (Critics Table award winner- Best Musical) and Three Days of Rain at Penfold Theatre, The Cherry Orchard with Breakin' String and City of Angels at Mary Moody Northen Theatre. Selected Canadian credits include As You Like It at CanStage, Cabaret at the New Yorker Theatre, Seussical at Carousel Theatre and co-producing and appearing in The World Goes 'Round at Pacific Theatre.

Jennifer Harmon's (Violet Weston) has appeared on Broadway in The Glass Menagerie, The Dinner Party, Amy's View, The Little Foxes, School for Scandal, The Sisters Rosensweig, Rumors and Blithe Spirit. She has been a company member for 7 years at Apa-Phoenix Repertory and a company member for five seasons at Williamstown Theatre. She was in the national tour of The Show Off with Helen Hayes and has appeared Off-Broadway in In Perpetuity Throughout the Universe, HOT L BALTIMORE, The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds, The Holly and the Ivey and Dr. Knock. She has performed at regional theatres across the country including Richard III at Chicago Shakespeare Rep; To Kill A Mockingbird, 8 by Tenn, Undiscovered Country and The Greeks at Hartford Stage; A Delicate Balance at Merrimack Repertory Theatre; Summer and Smoke at Hartford Stage and Paper Mill Playhouse; Auntie Mame at Bay Street, Tonight at 8:30 at Williamstown Theatre Festival; King John and King Lear at Shakespeare Theatre; The Heiress at Ahmanson Theatre; Later Life at Old Globe; Hamlet at The Guthrie; Danton's Death at Center Stage; Hedda Gabler and Ghosts at The American Ibsen Theatre.

August: Osage County features Alley Theatre Artists Jeffrey Bean as Bill Fordham, James Belcher as Charlie Aiken, James Black as Steve Heidebrecht, Elizabeth Bunch as Karen Weston, Josie de Guzman as Barbara Fordham, Chris Hutchison as Little Charles Aiken, Charles Krohn as Beverly Weston, Emily Neves as Jean Fordham and Todd Waite as Sheriff Deon Gilbeau.

The design team for August: Osage County includes scenic and lighting design by Kevin Rigdon (Alley's A Behanding in Spokane, Intelligence-Slave, Mrs. Mannerly) with costume design by Alejo Vietti (Alley's Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps, Our Town, Rock 'n' Roll). Sound design is by Pierre Dupree (Alley's A Behanding in Spokane, Intelligence-Slave, The Man Who Came to Dinner) with fight direction by Brian Byrnes (Alley's Peter Pan or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up, Intelligence-Slave, Cyrano de Bergerac) and Dramaturg Lauren Halvorsen (Alley's A Behanding in Spokane, Mrs. Mannerly, Our Town).

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets to August: Osage County start at $21. All tickets to August: Osage County are available for purchase at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713.220.5700. Groups of 10 or more can receive special concierge services and select discounts by calling 713.220.5700 and asking for the group sales department. The added convenience of reservations by phone or Internet is available for a nominal fee. Tickets purchased in person at the Alley Theatre Box Office have a $1 building restoration fee.

UNITED CEREBRAL PALSY OF HOUSTON $10 TIX
Saturday, February 19
The Alley Theatre continues its efforts to make the theatre affordable to patrons. Partnering with other social non-profit organizations, the Alley seeks to generate in-kind donations and reward patrons with $10 Tix for select performances. The $10 Tix are available in person only on Saturday, February 19 and are limited to two tickets per person. With your donation, you can purchase two $10 tickets for either Saturday, February 19 at 2:30 p.m.; Tuesday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m.; or Thursday, February 24 at 7:30 p.m. Donate and purchase in person at the box office (615 Texas Ave.) on Saturday, February 19 only. Limited availability. The $10 Tix partner for August: Osage County is United Cerebral Palsy of Houston. The date to donate and purchase is Saturday, February 19, beginning at noon. The donated item is disposable diapers for children 12 months to 3 years old.

CAPTIONED AND AUDIO DESCRIBED PERFORMANCE
Sunday February 20, 7:30 PM
The Alley Theatre is pleased to offer open captioning and audio description for many of our productions throughout the season. To ensure that your seats will accommodate your needs, please call the box office 713.220.5700 when ordering tickets to this performance. Discounted tickets are available for groups of ten or more.

TALKBACK
Tuesday, February 22, 7:30 PM
Tuesday, March 1, 7:30 PM
Members of the cast return to the stage following the performance to take questions from the audience. TalkBacks are led by a member of the Alley Artistic Staff.

ACTOUT
Thursday, March 3, 6:00 - 7:15 PM
Houston's premiere theatre group for gay and lesbian theatre fans and their friends celebrates the Alley Theatre's production of August: Osage County. This pre-curtain event is free with your ticket to the Thursday, March 3, 7:30 PM performance of August: Osage County. To buy a ticket, required for this event, use the promo code: ACTOUT. Purchase online at www.alleytheatre.org or call the box office at 713.220.5700.

August: Osage County is generously sponsored by Supporting Sponsors Bank of Texas and Thompson & Knight LLP and Associate Producers Kathryn and Jim Ketelsen. The Alley Theatre is supported by the 2010-2011 season sponsor United Airlines, the official airline of the Alley Theatre.