The cast of “August: Osage County” celebrated their final showing on Feb. 23 at the Midland Center for the Arts (MCFTA). Among them was junior Anna Stolz who made her debut playing the role of Jean Fordham, a 14-year-old girl dealing with the divorce of her parents and the death of her grandfather. “August: Osage County” follows the paths of Violet Weston’s three adult daughters and their families who deal with the death of their father and, consequently, their mother’s drug addiction. While Stolz was cast as a young character, the play is intended for mature audiences. 

“[Jean] is a 14-year-old firecracker who has a do no harm, take no crap kind of mindset,” Stolz said. “She seems a little quiet and reserved at the beginning, and then you see the more raunchy side of who she is. We see that she’s damaged, and that she puts up a tough exterior because it’s her only option as a coping mechanism to deal with the craziness that you see from her family in the show.”

After hearing about the opportunity from her choir teacher, Adam Gardener-Northrup, Stolz was quick to accept and soon became the youngest on the cast. Nevertheless, by the end of the final show, she was able to create a family with the entire cast. 

For more information on shows at MCFTA, visit https://www.midlandcenter.org/.