Photo Flash: First Look at Mesa Encore Theater's AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY

Think fast....your alcoholic father has vanished, your mother is a paranoid pill popper, and the remaining family members have sunk into a depth of dysfunction of epic proportions and harbor shady little secrets--where are you? No, not immersed in another Real Housewives episode in any given city--but you are at the Mesa Arts Center as Mesa Encore Theatre proudly presents one of the best pieces of American dramatic theatre in a decade, August: Osage County! Written by the 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tracy Letts, this epic Tony Award Best Play storms the stage at the Mesa Arts Center, located at 1 East Main Street, from Jan 31 through February 9. Tickets can be obtained by visiting www.MesaArtsCenter.com or by calling the box office at 480-644-6500.

Directed by Arizona's own Phillip Fazio, August: Osage County presents a bleak, yet insightful vision of the American family through this hilarious and harrowing tale of life, death, and familial strife--sure to shake audiences to their core! When the Weston family unexpectedly reunites after Dad disappears, this Oklahoma family explodes in a maelstrom of repressed truths. August: Osage County unflinchingly-and uproariously-exposes the dark underbelly of a scathingly splintered family as they simmer behind closed doors. You might not find yourself familial strife--sure to shake audiences to their core! When the Weston family unexpectedly wishing you were a member of the Weston clan, but you'll likely recognize something of your own family in them!

Appearing as the unflinchingly uproarious Violet Weston, is actress Shari Watts-who was named by the Phoenix New Times as the 2011 Best Actress of the Year for her portrayal of Big Edie in Tempe Little Theater's production of Grey Gardens: The Musical. Watts has also appeared in Our Town at Phoenix Theatre, Sons of the Prophet with Stray Cat Theatre, and A Devil Inside with Nearly Naked Theatre.