Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad (Gem of the Ocean, A Raisin in the Sun), as previously announced, takes over Parsons' role of pill-poppin' Oklahoma matriarch Violet Weston on May 26. That's the same day original cast member and Tony nominee Amy Morton rejoins the troupe, as daughter Barbara, replacing Johanna Day.
Rashad will be performing in a strictly limited engagement through Aug. 23.
Between May 18-25, understudy and original company member Susanne Marley will play Violet at Broadway's Music Box.
Tracy Letts' darkly comic drama about a dysfunctional Plains family that reunites when the patriarch goes missing won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2008 Tony Award for Best New Play.
* August: Osage County currently stars Elizabeth Ashley as Mattie Fae Aiken, with Anne Berkowitz, Guy Boyd, John Cullum, Johanna Day, Kimberly Guerrero, Brian Kerwin, Mariann Mayberry, Michael Milligan, Sally Murphy, Troy West and Frank Wood.
The three-act, three-and-a-half hour play is currently performed Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday-Friday at 7:30 PM, Wednesday and Saturdays at 2 PM, Saturdays at 8 PM and Sundays at 3 PM.
Tickets can be purchased at Telecharge.com, or by calling (212) 239-6200, or (800) 432-7250.
The Music Box Theatre is located at 239 West 45th Street.
Visit augustonbroadway.com.
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The national tour of August: Osage County launches July 24-Aug. 8 in Denver at the Ellie Caukins Opera House before moving to San Francisco's Curran Theatre Aug. 11-Sept. 6.
Parsons joined the Broadway company in June 2008, taking over for Tony winner Deanna Dunagan, who went on to play the role in London.
Parsons made her Broadway debut in Happy Hunting. Since then, she has either starred in or directed over 25 productions. Most notably, she has been nominated for the Tony Award for her performances in The Seven Descents of Myrtle, And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little, Miss Margarida's Way and Mornings at Seven.
Her first film role was in "Ladybug, Ladybug." Her performance in "Bonnie & Clyde" won her an Academy Award, and she was nominated again the following year for her work in "Rachel, Rachel." Other film performances include "Don't Drink the Water," "I Walk the Line," "I Never Sang for My Father," "Watermelon Man," "For Pete's Sake," "Dick Tracy," "Boys on the Side" and "Looking for Richard."
On television, Parsons notably played the mother of "Roseanne" on the hit sitcom.
In addition to teaching acting at Columbia and Yale, Parsons served as the artistic director of the Actors' Studio between 1996 and 2001.
August: Osage County is produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler and Jerry Frankel. Anna D. Shapiro directs and won a Tony for her work.
