Eric Woodall stages the production about an Oklahoma family who come together to sort out their past and future when one of their own goes missing. It will run through Dec. 9 at the Fletcher Opera Theater. Kennedy, a Broadway actress known for Side Show, Sunset Boulevard and Spamalot, is also the artistic director of Theatre Raleigh.

Lyman ("Mama's Family," "All My Children") stars as family matriarch Violet Weston, with Kennedy as Karen, Brescia (Wicked, Mamma Mia!) as Ivy and Dunlap ("Mad Men") as Mattie Fae. The cast is completed by Phil Crone (Beverly), Julie Fishell (Barbara), Jeffrey West (Bill), Mary Mattison Vallery (Jean), Jesse Gephart (Little Charles), Paul Paliyenko (Charles), Estes Tarver (Steve), Kathleen Lynch (Johnna) and David McClutchey (Sheriff Gilbeau).

August: Osage County, according to production notes, "tells the story of a large extended family that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead when the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled grandmother at the center of this storm."

The creative team includes Chris Bernier (set designer), Jennifer Becker (lighting designer), Eric Collins (sound designer) and Denise Schumaker (costume designer).

August: Osage County arrived on Broadway in December 2008, garnering the 2009 Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in 2007. Letts is also the playwright of Superior Donuts, his Broadway follow-up to August: Osage County, as well as Bug and Killer Joe. He currently stars opposite original August: Osage County cast member Amy Morton in the Broadway revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

For tickets visit HotSummerNightsAtTheKennedy.org.