American actor Cole (TV's "The West Wing," "Desperate Housewives") will play Steve Heidebrecht, the shady boyfriend of daughter Karen in the dark family comedy by Tracy Letts. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2008 Tony Award for Best Play.
Anna D. Shapiro (Tony Award – Best Director) will again stage the play, to run at the National's Lyttelton Theatre.
The previously announced London cast also includes Steppenwolf ensemble members Ian Barford as Little Charles, Mariann Mayberry as Karen Weston, Amy Morton as Barbara Fordham, Sally Murphy as Ivy Weston, Jeff Perry as Bill Fordham and Rondi Reed as Mattie Fay Aiken, with Deanna Dunagan as Violet Weston, Kimberly Guerrero as Johnna Longwell, Michael McGuire as Beverly Weston, Paul Vincent O'Connor as Charlie Aiken, Molly Ranson as Jean Fordham and Troy West as Sheriff Deon Gilbeau.
Ian Barford, Deanna Dunagan (Tony Award – Best Actress), Kimberly Guerrero, Mariann Mayberry, Amy Morton (Tony nomination – Best Actress), Sally Murphy, Jeff Perry, Rondi Reed (Tony Award – Best Featured Actress) and Troy West all appeared in the original Chicago and Broadway casts of August: Osage County.
Michael McGuire and Molly Ranson appeared in the Broadway cast of August: Osage County. The National Theatre production features the original Chicago and Broadway design team: Todd Rosenthal (sets, Tony Award – Best Scenic Design), Ana Kuzmanic (costumes), Ann G. Wrightson (lights, Tony nomination – Best Lighting Design), Richard Woodbury (sound), David Singer (original music) and Chuck Coyl (fight choreography).
According to the producers, "August: Osage County tells the explosively funny tale of the Weston clan, triggered by the recent disappearance of the family patriarch. With rich insight and brilliant humor, Letts' critically-acclaimed play paints a vivid portrait of a Midwestern family at a critical turning point."
For ticket information and performance times, visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk.
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August: Osage County is currently playing at Broadway's Music Box Theatre (239 West 45th Street), following its premiere and sold-out run at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2007.
The national tour of August: Osage County will begin at San Francisco's Curran Theatre in August 2009. Subsequent U.S. tour engagements will be announced shortly.
