Meryl Streep played ‘August: Osage’ matriarch on screen, but who played her onstage?

By David Ng

Ill-tempered, shrewish and vindictive, Violet Weston in “August: Osage County” is the latest stage protagonist brought to life on screen by Meryl Streep.

In her career, Streep has played a number of heroines in high-profile screen adaptations of popular plays and musicals. But the three-time Oscar-winning actress didn’t originate any of these roles on stage. The theater actresses who played these roles -- some of whom won the Tony Award -- have had to cede these plum parts to the more bankable name.

Here’s a look back at some of Streep’s biggest roles, and the actresses who first played the characters in the theater.

The character: Sister Aloysius, a Bronx nun who is convinced that a priest has sexually abused an altar boy.

Who played her onstage: Cherry Jones originated the role off-Broadway in 2004 at the Manhattan Theatre Club and later won a Tony Award on Broadway. She also starred in the national tour of the John Patrick Shanley play, which came to the Ahmanson Theatre in L.A. Jones was succeeded on Broadway by Eileen Atkins. In the play’s local premiere at the Pasadena Playhouse, Sister Aloysius was played by Linda Hunt.   (Miramax Film; Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)