BEFORE YOU READ
Important Background Information for the Prologue & Act 1
1. History of Osage County 2. The Great Plains3. Cheyenne Umbilical Cord Tradition4. The Indian Removal Act
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REVIEWING ACT 1
A. Family Tree 1: The fictional Weston family is inspired by Tracy Letts' own, real life family. Watch this video to learn more.
B. Family Tree 2: Confirm your understanding of the charactersand their relationships to each other in this family tree. C. Dennis Letts, the playwright's father, played Beverly Weston at Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago when the play first opened. Dennis Letts only began acting in his 50s and for most of his career was a college professor. Letts was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer in September but chose to stay with the show as it moved to New York for its Broadway debut. He continued performing eight shows a week until February, despite his illness and its treatment. He died near the end of February at the age of 73. D. Beverly Weston was then played by Michael McGuire. Review the details of the character in the play with this video.
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E. Johnna Monevata is a Cheyenne Indian in the play, played by American actress Kimberly Guerrero. Guerrero, at the website HowlRound had this to say about the presence of a native character in the play: [The title] is Osage County because it is home to the Osage Tribe. The whole play takes place on indigenous land, shedding light on the fact that—barring a handful of theatres on reservations—every stage in America is built on confiscated Indian land.
. . . there’s the playwright himself. In a story as personal as it is political, why did Tracy Letts choose to include a Native character? In his words, “When you grow up in Oklahoma and you have Native American blood, that heritage is embedded in your DNA" Dennis Letts was a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Tribe. Along with European ancestry, he also passed indigenous DNA on to his sons. . .The story of our nation is one of mixed blood. As storytellers, it is vital we engage every strand of DNA in our collective being in order to function at our highest potential. Review the role of Johanna in this video. She will increase in importance as the play progresses. F. Review the opening scene, listening closely to the dialogue. Look at it with your script in hand, as well -- what details from the stage directions are portrayed in the actors' actions and in the set or costume design? |