It's not as confusing as it might seem, since the characters are well-delineated and interestingly portrayed. Considering the able competition, it's quite an accomplishment that Collinson manages to command every scene she's in. But her character Ivy delights in being the center of attention, her pill-popping not only keeping her giddy but also prompting the delightful gallops of dialogue. Collinson is wonderful to watch riding this role of a lifetime for all it's worth.
What an engaging ensemble, and with such a finely crafted text to work from. For example, there is a discussion of how men keep their looks as they age but women do not. So when Barbara impulsively kisses a former high school sweetheart who is now sheriff (Joe Henderson), her suddenly breaking off and saying that she remembers how she looks packs quite a punch.
By the end, every life is earned. Violet is a meany but, at the conclusion, she suffers the consequences of her smirking viciousness. She is left with no one to yell at, just the quiet observer Johnna, who is too much a stranger to strike fear into.
To paraphrase Eliot, this is the way a good play ends, not with a harangue but a simper.
Topics:
Theater
, Theatre, Tracy Letts, Ed Shea, More 
, Theatre, Tracy Letts, Ed Shea, Kira Arnold, 2nd Story Theatre, 2nd Story Theatre, T.S. Eliot, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, Less 
