The Story
One of the best American plays of the past quarter century. Terry Teachout, Wall Street JournalAn immensely entertaining pop artifact. Written with neonlit flamboyance. Vincent Canby, New York TimesA brilliant play. A major theatrical event. Michael Billington, GuardianA visceral theatre experience of the highest order. For those who like their theatre strong, not tepid, its immensely gratifying. BackstageThe Smith family hatch a plan to murder their estranged matriarch for her insurance money and hire Killer Joe Cooper, a police detective and parttime contract killer, to do the job. Once he enters the trailer, their simple plan spirals out of control. Lettss unforgettable first play is a tense, guttwisting thriller ride and has been performed in fifteen countries in twelve languages (Chicago Tribune). The film adaptation, released in 2011 and starring Matthew McConaghey, is written with merciless black humor?one hell of a movie (Roger Ebert).Tracy Letts was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play for August: Osage County, which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2007 before playing Broadway, Londons National Theatre, and a fortyweek US tour. Other plays include Pulitzer Prize finalist Man from Nebraska; Killer Joe, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed film; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago, and London and was adapted into a film. Letts is an ensemble member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company and garnered a Tony Award for his performance in the Broadway revival of Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Description
One of the best American plays of the past quarter century. Terry Teachout, Wall Street JournalAn immensely entertaining pop artifact. Written with neonlit flamboyance. Vincent Canby, New York TimesA brilliant play. A major theatrical event. Michael Billington, GuardianA visceral theatre experience of the highest order. For those who like their theatre strong, not tepid, its immensely gratifying. BackstageThe Smith family hatch a plan to murder their estranged matriarch for her insurance money and hire Killer Joe Cooper, a police detective and parttime contract killer, to do the job. Once he enters the trailer, their simple plan spirals out of control. Lettss unforgettable first play is a tense, guttwisting thriller ride and has been performed in fifteen countries in twelve languages (Chicago Tribune). The film adaptation, released in 2011 and starring Matthew McConaghey, is written with merciless black humor?one hell of a movie (Roger Ebert).Tracy Letts was awarded the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play for August: Osage County, which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 2007 before playing Broadway, Londons National Theatre, and a fortyweek US tour. Other plays include Pulitzer Prize finalist Man from Nebraska; Killer Joe, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed film; and Bug, which has played in New York, Chicago, and London and was adapted into a film. Letts is an ensemble member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company and garnered a Tony Award for his performance in the Broadway revival of Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
