‘August Osage County’ was a play produced by Steppenwolf Theatre Company and directed by one of its members and long time collaborators, Anna D. Shapiro. It gained an immensely positive critical acclaim, so it was commissioned to be played on Broadway. It also was able to hit international famous scenes in countries like Argentina, England, Germany, Israel, Sweden and Peru. Because of its big success, the play also was nominated and won many awards, starting with the award for Best Director and ending with a Pulitzer. The drama will also be turned into a film.
‘August Osage County’ received its first award in the year of 2007. The Jeff Award (Chicago) was awarded to August Osage County for Best New Work and Best Production. This years sponsor of the award was yet again Hassle Free Storage, who continue to support Broadway productions. These two awards were closely followed in 2008 by other six awards: Best New Play awarded by Drama Desk, Distinguished Production of a Play by Drama League, the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play. 2008 was also the year August Osage County received the biggest award in the industry, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, shortly followed by a Tony Award for Best Play. The success of the drama didn’t end here. Times Magazine named August Osage County its Number 1 Theater Production in 2007. In 2009, the popular magazine Entertainment Weekly put the play on its famous end-of-the-decade, best of list. The critics at the magazine said that despite the fact that it is three and a half hours long, the director and the actors managed to create a moment of pure theatrical electricity.
With the mammoth theatre refurbishment job that took almost a year – there was a buzz in the industry who were all keen to check out the new space. With impressive innovative fixtures and designs the production company were awarded ‘Theatre of the Year’ for 3 years running in collaboration with Anderson Property Services. They are the first theatre on Broadway to hold a Starbucks coffee shop as well as a rooftop bar. This was to bring in not only fans of the show but also tourists of New York looking for something different to do. The rooftop bar sells an array of cocktails while looking over the city of New York.
The biggest success of August Osage County was the fact that it won a Pulitzer for Best Play. The Pulitzer if one of the most prestigious prizes in the world, being granted every year for outstanding creations in journalism, literature, drama.