Tracy Letts

In Shel Silverstein's great song A boy named Sue a father gives his son a girl's name to harden him against mockery and aggression. I don't know what Mr. Letts' parents intended by calling their boy Tracy, but I do know that the name of one the greatest living male dramatists is Tracy Letts. He is the author of August: Osage County, a play that won both a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. A film version, written by Letts himself, was just released. This amazing playwright has produced just five plays in 18 years, and although I only know the one mentioned, I am positive that he belongs to the same league as Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee. The 48-old actor and writer is a recovering alcoholic and former chain smoker who dropped out of college to go to Chicago where he became a member of the Steppenwolf ensemble and started to write for the company. We all will hear a lot of him in the upcoming years.