Letts keeps it personal with latest play
NEW YORK — Tracy Letts takes a comic turn in his new play, “Superior Donuts.”
But the Pulitzer and Tonywinning playwright of “August: Osage County” says that despite the lighter fare, the story in “Superior Donuts” is no less personal to him than his other plays.
Letts recently talked about the new play, choices he made on the last one and the current state of theater.
In “August Osage County,” your grandparents were part of the inspiration, what was the motivation behind “Superior Donuts”?
It’s the first play I’ve written set in Chicago. All my other plays are set in the Plains states. So this is the first play I’ve written about my adopted city. I guess the inspiration for the play is the community you make. Family is the community you’re born into, but then there’s also the community you make, the neighborhood you live in, the people you choose to spend time with, and how we sort of make family out of that.
Last year while you were putting this show together, it seems like you were on an emotional roller coaster. Did that influence the show in any way?
There’s a real spirit of generosity about “Superior Donuts.” When we first put the show up a year ago, my father had passed away shortly before; I was still kind of reeling from that. At the same time, I had to miss a couple of rehearsals to go to the Pulitzer ceremony and the Tony awards, a real period of highs and lows for me. ... And what was happening ... was not only happening in the play, but it was happening in real life, too. Those people who were working on the show I think sensed that I was in a rocky time of highs and lows, and so there was a real sense of people banding together in the great way that people do in the theater.
Tell me about casting Michael McKean.
When we were putting together “Donuts,” it called for a very specific age, a very specific kind of actor, a specific skill set, some comic ability and yet a lot of heart, too. He was the first person I thought of. ... He’s been a total delight and a total pleasure to work with.
The Broadway cast is identical to Steppenwolf cast. What about the other actors?
You know it’s a great amalgam of people. Chicago actors, Steppenwolf ensemble members and some of our newer ensemble members, too. They feel like the genuine ambassadors of our theater now, bringing the show to New York.
You recently sat in on the rehearsals on the touring company of “August: Osage County.” Do playwrights generally do that?
It’s unusual I think that the playwright would be in the rehearsals for the national tour. I care a lot, not only about “August,” but I care about “August” on the road. “August” is written about Oklahoma ... a place a lot of people don’t get to see. ... So I have really tried to charge these actors with a kind of missionary zeal about taking this thing out to the rest of the country and giving those people an opportunity to see themselves represented.
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