Opening May 30 the Mountain Community Theater Presents

August: Osage County – Live on stage at Ben Lomond’s Park Hall

BEN LOMOND – Mountain Community Theater is proud to present the area premiere on May 30 of Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County, one of the most acclaimed plays of the last decade. It won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an enormous success on Broadway.  Tracy Letts’ sprawling saga about three generations of an Oklahoma family has drawn comparisons to the work of American dramatists Eugene O’Neill, Sam Shepard, and Tennessee Williams. In addition, the recent movie adaption garnered Academy Award nominations for both Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.

The performance contains adult language and subject matter that is not suitable for young children.

The fiercely funny and bitingly sad story, which unfolds over the course of several weeks, tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan 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, the acid-tongued, pill-popping mother at the center of this storm. From the very beginning, this dark comedy aggressively exposes the dysfunction of their Midwestern family.

MCT veteran Peter Gelblum directs the show. The cast includes some of the top acting talent in Santa Cruz, including both MCT alumni and several actors who we are proud to present to the MCT audiences for the first time: Chad Davies, Karin Babbitt, Suzanne Schrag, Steven Capasso, Davis Banta, MarNae Taylor, Andrew Singleton, Dahlela Hennig, Daria Troxell, Ann McCormick, Marty Lee Jones, Megan Parlé and Michael LaMere.

The play August: Osage County opens at Ben Lomond’s Park Hall on Friday, May 30, with a champagne reception on opening night. It continues through Sunday, June 15. All Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m. (No Sunday matinee on opening weekend). There will also be a special talkback with the cast after the Sunday June 8 matinee.

General Admission tickets $20. Students and Seniors $17. The Thursday June 5 performance is a special “2 for 1” for $20.00.   For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.mctshows.org or www.brownpapertickets.com.

Mountain Community Theater (MCT) is Santa Cruz County’s longest continuously running community theater company and is a member-run non-profit organization that derives its support primarily from performance proceeds and charitable donations. Park Hall is located at 9400 Mill Street in Ben Lomond, just 17 minutes away from downtown Santa Cruz.