Eugene O‟Neill: The Constant Presence April 2017

SOCIETY BOARD PRESIDENT IN THE U.S., ON STAGE IN IRELAND J. Chris Westgate [email protected]

10th International Conference VICE PRESIDENT July 19-22, pp. 10-13 Robert M. Dowling 1 Central Connecticut State University National University of SECRETARY/TREASURER Ireland, Galway 2 Beth Wynstra [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY — ASIA: Haiping Liu [email protected]

INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY — EUROPE: Marc Maufort [email protected]

5 GOVERNING BOARD OF DIRECTORS CHAIR: Steven Bloom [email protected]

3 Jackson Bryer [email protected]

Eugene O’Neill: Michael Burlingame [email protected] Ireland, the Constant Presence Robert M. Dowling [email protected]

Thierry Dubost 4 [email protected]

Kurt Eisen Photos: [email protected] 1. Chris Whitaker 2. A. Vincent Scarano Eileen Herrmann 3. Eugene O‘Neill Fdtn. [email protected] 4. Carol Rosegg 5. Stephanie Berger Katie Johnson [email protected]

Daniel Larner [email protected] 1. Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Geffen Playhouse, pp. 17-18. Cynthia McCown 2. Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Monte Cristo Cottage, [email protected] pp. 19-20. Anne G. Morgan 3. Shell Shock & The Rescue, Playwrights‘ Theatre, Danville, [email protected] REMEMBERING pp. 28-29. David Palmer THE GELBS 4. The Emperor Jones, Irish Rep, pp. 21-22. [email protected] pp. 3-9 5. The Hairy Ape, The Armory, pp. 14-16. Robert Richter [email protected]

EX OFFICIO What‟s Inside IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Honorary board, special members . .24 Jeff Kennedy President‘s Message ...... 2 [email protected] Conference Panels ...... 25 Remembering the Gelbs ...... 3-9 THE EUGENE O’NEILL REVIEW O‘Neill On Stage ...... 14-22, 26, 28 Conferences, CFPs ...... 26 Editor: William Davies King Eugene O‘Neill Foundation [email protected] 10th International Conference . . . .10-13 Member News Artists in Residence ...... 27-28 NEWSLETTER Editor: Jo Morello New website ...... 23 Playwrights‘ Theatre ...... 28-29 [email protected] The Eugene O’Neill Review ...... 23 Contributors ...... 30-31

Eugene O‘Neill Society Page 1

A Message from Society president J. Chris Westgate which is great! But we still need all our Dear O‘Neillians, M c N a m a r a and members members in good standing. If you It is with deeply mixed feelings that I of the execu- haven‘t renewed yet, I encourage you write this letter. The recent passing of tive commit- to do so soon. As always, you can re- Barbara Gelb is a great loss for the t e e a r e new online at the Society website. Eugene O‘Neill Society. Along with working dili- Arthur, who passed in 2014, Barbara gently on I hope you get a chance to see some was a great presence in the Society for making this of the productions of O‘Neill‘s plays so long that it is undoubtedly difficult conference that are happening right now. We to imagine the future without her. As an amazing have coverage on several important you will see in the remembrances of experience. productions in this issue (pages 14-22, them elsewhere in this Newsletter, 26, 28). They were so important to so many I should note that all the conference members of the O‘Neill Society and information is posted on our newly I just got back from New York City the study of O‘Neill‘s life that we redesigned Society website thanks to where I had the good fortune of see- should all take a moment to remem- Jeff Kennedy. (See page 23.) Please ing one of them, The Emperor Jones, at ber them—each of us individually and take some time to look through the the Irish Repertory Theatre. It was an together as a Society. amazing work that Jeff has put into the astonishingly visceral experience that website and send him thanks for his left the performers and the audience Yet the sadness we feel is mixed with hard work. overwhelmed. (See photos HERE.) enthusiasm for what lies ahead for the Society, including the Tenth Interna- Just glancing through the photographs Additionally, I got to see The Hairy Ape tional Conference on Eugene O‘Neill: from past conferences in New York at The Armory, which was truly enjoy- ―Eugene O‘Neill: Ireland, the Constant City and New London was a treat for able in the ways that the production Presence.‖ The conference‘s schedule me—seeing all of us gathered together experimented with the expressionism is now available on the Society‘s web- to talk about the life and work of of the play. site (www.eugeneoneillsociety.org/ O‘Neill. index.html) and, as you can see, we If you don‘t have a chance to see the have a lot of exciting things to look I would be remiss (and in trouble with play, click HERE to watch Rob forward to including lectures from Beth!) if I didn‘t take a moment to ask Dowling‘s interview with the director, Ireland‘s president Michael D. Higgins you to consider renewing your Society Richard Jones, and the leading actor, as well as scholars Declan Kiberd, and membership for next year. We‘ve had Bobby Cannavale. Gerardine Meaney; a lecture on the a great year for membership, with our Abbey Theatre and its archives; and a numbers up from the previous year— Until Galway…. Chris performance of Ronan Noone‘s The Second Girl. Below, The Hairy Ape. PHOTO: STEPHANIE BERGER. Right: The Emperor Jones. PHOTO: CAROL ROSEGG. Beyond that, the Galway Arts Festival is running during the conference, with offerings we can take in during some down time.

As you saw in the email from our sec- retary/treasurer Beth Wynstra, regis- tration for the Conference is now available. Conference co-chairs Nelson O‘Ceallaigh Ritschel and Audrey

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The End of an Era: The Passing of the Gelbs “What I am is a Writer”: Remembering Barbara—and Arthur by Sheila Hickey Garvey was legendary and apparently seeped into their family life right to the edge Barbara and then Arthur Gelb were of the crib. amongst my closest friends for almost thirty years. We often dined together, Barbara‘s sense of artistic integrity was had a mutual passion for the opera, indeed finely tuned. This is why Bar- indulged—just a bit—in gossip, bara and Arthur together spoke laughed a lot and also shared personal against director Jose Quintero and intimacies and concerns in a way that Donald Gallop (then curator at Yale‘s one can only do with the closest and Beinecke Library) for adapting—at most trusted of friends. Of course, the Carlotta‘s request—the incomplete primary tie was Eugene O‘Neill, as my text of O‘Neill‘s More Stately Mansions own writing and research builds on for performance on Broadway. Bar- Barbara‘s interviews with José bara and Arthur both took an unpopu- Quintero and Jason Robards in the lar position, one that appeared in The 1970s. New York Times just before the pro- duction opened. Because of this there Separating Barbara and Arthur was was friction amongst Quintero, Ro- challenging since they co-authored bards, Gallup and the Gelb for many much of their O‘Neill writing and (File photo, forwarded by Bette Mandl) years. were an inseparable couple as often as bara and Arthur were at the confer- possible. But I consciously made the ence to receive the Eugene O‘Neill From Barbara and Arthur‘s point of decision to focus on Barbara‘s unique Medallion, I asked Barbara to join the view, they had taken a stance on behalf professional identity in this remem- panel. After all she was also a play- of deceased writer Eugene O‘Neill, brance because it was almost too easy wright and should be thought of as who was unable to speak for himself to become caught up in Arthur‘s dy- such. With reluctance Barbara joined and was known to have instructed namic personality, exuberant nature my other guests and, of course, held Carlotta to destroy the unfinished and mesmerizing intellect. her own while Arthur sat in the audi- manuscript. To alter an artist‘s work ence asking Jason and José provocative without permission was, to Barbara, My first effort to spotlight Barbara was questions to rile them up. an ethical violation. in 1987 at the time her play My Gene premiered at New York‘s Public Thea- Barbara once said to me, ―what I am is During the Society‘s Sixth Interna- ter. The play, about Carlotta Mon- a writer.‖ To Barbara, being a writer tional Conference in Provincetown, terey O‘Neill, starred Barbara‘s friend meant being an artist. As the niece of Massachusetts, in 2005, Barbara, Ar- Coleen Dewhurst. I interviewed Bar- acclaimed violinist Jascha Heifetz and thur and filmmaker Ric Burns spent bara and wrote an article based on the step-daughter of successful play- the weekend with fellow O‘Neillians. that interview for The Eugene O’Neill wright S.N. Berman she well under- They had asked me to arrange the Newsletter. In 1995 Fred Wilkins, co- stood what being an artist truly meant. premiere presentation of selections founder of the Eugene O‘Neill Society from their then newly completed PBS and then-editor of The Eugene O’Neill She gave me an example to explain American Experience episode titled Review, asked me to be the chair for a some of her eccentricities by telling Eugene O’Neill, a Documentary Film. performance panel at an O‘Neill Soci- me that her Uncle Jascha would test all ety conference in Boston. of the children in the extended family That last word ―film‖ was very impor- by holding a tuning fork to their ears tant, especially to Barbara. The Ameri- The panelists were to be Jason Ro- to see if they had perfect pitch. can Experience film was vindication for bards and José Quintero. Because Bar- Heifetz‘s reputation for perfectionism (Continued on page 4)

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The End of an Era: The Passing of the Gelbs (continued) Remembering the Gelbs integrate maps and photos to assist early 80s and that I was in my early readers in navigating the Gelbs‘s me- 60s, I frequently marveled at their (Continued from page 3) ticulously crafted prose. stamina much less their integrity, and what she believed was Warren their ability to integrate work and life Beatty‘s lifting of a huge portion of her Through a series of monthly meetings so seamlessly. After these intense ses- book So Short a Time for his acclaimed in their apartment, over the course of sions, and at some mysteriously movie Reds. Barbara had been in talks more than a year I was privileged to agreed upon time, we would leave our with Beatty to use her research, but observe Arthur and Barbara in the work and go out for a fun-filled dinner, then read in the newspapers that he process of living and creating in the or sometimes we would eat in their was making the film—but without her. manner they had been doing for their apartment kitchen while Barbara duti- She received no credit or remunera- entire marriage. During those work fully scooted about serving us some- tion for that highly successful film. meetings, I would watch them and thing ordered out as Arthur charmed However, an out-of-court settlement sometimes participate in full-out artis- us both with reporter stories from his paid for a fur coat that enabled Bar- tic squabbles. days with The New York Times. bara to boast that it was given to her by Warren Beatty. During these times Arthur would sit At one point, we had a disagreement

immoveable in his chair while Barbara that so upset the three of us that I would rise from hers and circle the wondered how we would get our- room, advocating forcefully for her selves untangled. But it was Arthur point of view. It seemed a practiced and Barbara who handled it with such strategy since Arthur was so much elegance. They thought about what taller than Barbara. By rising, she was needed to occur in the process and taller, and by sitting, Arthur ―gave her called me on the phone the next day, the floor,‖ so to speak. I would remain Arthur on the phone and Barbara be- seated and cajole, plead, reason and side him injecting her thoughts. dare to offer a word or phrase as PHOTO: STEVE BLOOM compromise but found that it was best First, they expressed their great love to stay advocating for photos and for me and then explained very clearly Since Barbara and Arthur‘s O‘Neill maps while they turned upside-down what they perceived as the problem work was so intertwined I‘d like to and inside-out a particular word, sen- from their point of you. I realized in- share what I was privileged to observe tence, paragraph, or point of inclusion stantly that they were right and agreed of their work/life process while we or exclusion for every section that to the changes and we all laughed and composed our Eugene O’Neill’s New became the final tour booklet. almost cried with relief because all York Tour book, presented in 2011 for (Continued on page 5) the O‘Neill Society‘s Seventh Confer- At one point Barbara pulled from my ence, held in New York City. This fingers three or four guidebook was something Arthur had pages that both she always wanted to do. Barbara had not and Arthur had realized this and at first thought Ar- spent days con- thur was trying to distract himself structing and, with from completing their current project, seeming ruthless- their final O‘Neill biography, By ness, ripped them up Women Possessed. Since Arthur was before my eyes while vehement, Barbara jumped on board. I I sat groaning over soon found out that I would be in the lost prose. Keep- charge of helping them select areas of ing in mind that the the city to write about, set deadlines, two of them were at Barbara Gelb and Sheila Hickey Garvey at the New London and establish presentation formats to the time in their conference in June 2014 PHOTO: JO MORELLO Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 4 April 2017

The End of an Era: The Passing of the Gelbs (continued) Remembering the Gelbs As he showed me the photo, Arthur (Continued from page 4) reminded me that the men in that three of us were so worried that our room represented a famously rough friendship might be impaired. and rowdy male pack. But tiny Barbara was totally capable of holding her I cherish the memories of Barbara‘s ground. That Barbara would become a and Arthur‘s attention to the human colleague and friend still touches my component. For them it was the key soul with wonder. foundation for their enduring and re- newable collaborative process. Now, losing Barbara and having so recently lost Arthur, what gives me As a teenager, it was Arthur who I comfort is knowing that it is possible admired for his journalistic courage. to completely, fully live the life of a But it was Barbara that, as a youth, I consummate artist while still remaining emulated as a writer. I was always ea- a decent loving human being of ex- ger to meet her because she was one traordinary character. of first living woman writers whose articles and books inspired me to be- Barbara and Arthur were doting par- come fascinated with O‘Neill perform- ents and grandparents, writers of ex- ances. Barbara broke barriers as a traordinary talent, and humanitarians woman journalist for many that have who contributed immeasurably to the followed. Arthur once showed me a Tiny Barbara Gelb, dwarfed by a stair- quality of the daily life of so many New photo of Barbara in which she was case, speaks at the launch for By Yorkers. clearly the only woman in a crowded Women Possessed, the new biography New York Times journalist‘s meeting. of Eugene O’Neill that she wrote with her Ironically, their private lives were the She sat with a serious look on her face late husband, Arthur Gelb. opposite of Eugene O'Neill‘s, whose PHOTO: SHEILA HICKEY GARVEY life and legacy they unflinchingly exam- and, if I recall correctly, she was wear- ing a lady-like hat! (Photo from the Eugene O’Neill Society News- ined for the majority of their separate letter, November 2016.) and mutual writing careers.

The Gelbs: a short recap and memories from members

By Jo Morello write three ground-breaking biogra- to them in 1995, the Foundation be- phies of O‘Neill, contributed to nu- stowed the Tao House Award in 1996 Barbara and Arthur Gelb became de- merous other ventures including a PBS and the Theater Center awarded the voted fans of Eugene O‘Neill in 1946 American Experience episode titled Monte Cristo Award in 2005. when they splurged on orchestra seats Eugene O’Neill, a Documentary Film for The Iceman Cometh. They became The newsletter has published several (with Ric Burns) and became known biographers in the late 1950s, initially articles about the Gelbs over the worldwide as authorities on O‘Neill. stealing what time they could from years, most recently in the Spring and their ―day jobs.‖ He would ultimately Still they found time to become heavily Fall 2016 issues as their biography By become managing editor of The New involved with and supportive of the Women Possessed was being released. York Times. Barbara, a former Times Eugene O‘Neill Society, Eugene We have also asked our members to writer, worked as a journalist and O‘Neill Foundation and Eugene share memories and photos. Some later a playwright. Both were also au- O‘Neill Theater Center. The admira- responses appear on the following thors as well as committed parents of tion has been mutual: the Society pre- pages, along with a few reprints from two young boys. Yet they managed to sented the Eugene O‘Neill Medallion earlier newsletters. Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 5 April 2017

The End of an Era: The Passing of the Gelbs (continued) „We just want to finish the damn book!‟—Arthur Gelb, June 2006 From Harley Hammerman book! It will be a monument to the two of us."

My wife Marlene and I write a food blog Indeed, it will be. Arthur Gelb (twoforthetable.com) when we travel. On died in May of 2014 at the age of June 30, 2016, we were in New York 90. Barbara pushed onward City. Here’s our blog for that date: with By Women Possessed, polish-

ing final drafts, obtaining permis- On Thursday, we had a special sions and working on a multitude lunch date at Nice Matin on West of details. 79th Street on the Upper West The Gelbs at Blue Smoke, June 2006

Side. The delightful French- PHOTO: HARLEY HAMMERMAN Marlene and I lunched with Bar- Mediterranean restaurant is lo- The Gelbs wrote the seminal bi- bara at Nice Matin. It was the first cated in the Lucerne Hotel — the ography of Eugene O'Neill, time we'd been with her since hotel where Eugene O'Neill's par- O’Neill, published in 1962, and a Arthur's death. We talked about ents stayed in the early 1900s. new version of that biography, O'Neill, theatre, politics, food, But you knew that. O’Neill: Life with Monte Cristo, in family and more, as we had in the

2000. A final volume —their pièce past. We love Barbara. And we I had the nice Crab Cobb and de résistance—will be published in miss Arthur. Marlene had the wonderful November of this year. Moules Provençal with a side of yummy frites. But this lunch was We were fortunate to read an not about the food. uncorrected advance proof. It's amazing. Arthur and Barbara Gelb are one of the by-products of my obses- We had previously had dinner sion with the playwright Eugene with Arthur and Barbara in Octo- O'Neill. Arthur was the former ber of 2012, at a time they were managing editor of The New York feverishly working to finish their Times. Barbara is an author and final tome. As we talked about Barbara Gelb shares a quiet lunch with playwright. We first met the the book that night, I told Arthur Harley Hammerman and Marlene Gelbs in Provincetown in 2005, I was sure it would be a best Hammerman (not pictured) on June 30, and subsequently dined with them seller. Arthur quickly exclaimed, 2016. PHOTO: MARLENE HAMMERMAN whenever we came to New York "I don't care if it's a best seller. to talk about O'Neill, theatre, We just want to finish the damn And now we miss Barbara. politics, food, family and more.

From Rupendra Guha Majumdar

Please find attached a rare, close-up photo of Arthur Gelb and Theodore Mann taken by me at the garden-site of the erstwhile ―Hell Hole‖ during the Eugene O'Neill Conference in Greenwich Village/NYU in 2011.The occasion was the cere- mony of placing a new O'Neill plaque there.

Rupendra Guha Majumdar has been associate professor of English at Delhi University, Delhi, India, since 2009. Previously he was a pre– and post-doctoral Fulbright Fellow at Yale University and a Fulbright scholar-in-residence at Suffolk University (2014-2015). Eugene O‘Neill Society Page 6 April 2017

The End of an Era: The Passing of the Gelbs (continued) O‟Neillians share their photos and memories of Arthur and Barbara From Steve Bloom

These photos were taken on Veterans Day Weekend, 2012. My wife Margie Mitlin and I visited Barbara and Arthur at their apartment, where I showed them photographs I had recently obtained from a man whose great-aunt had worked for the O‘Neills in Above, seated: Arthur and Barbara Gelb. their home in Marblehead, Standing: Margie Mitlin, Steve Bloom Massachusetts. Steve Bloom, center, is flanked by Arthur and Bar- Steve Bloom, who is slated to receive a Margie and I loved our visit to bara Gelb in the Gelb home. Eugene O’Neill Medallion in July 2017, the Gelbs‘ apartment. Arthur PHOTO: MARGIE MITLIN chairs the board of directors of the and Barbara were kind and gracious Eugene O’Neill Society, on which he has hosts, very interested in the photos I It‘s hard to imagine a couple who per- served since 2000. He is an author, edi- had brought to show them, and also sonified New York City and its bus- tor, essayist and speaker on O’Neill. Steve very interested in getting to know us tling cultural life more than the Gelbs; is associate vice president for academic better and to hear about our family. we were very grateful to get to spend affairs, dean of undergraduate education, Afterwards they took us to dinner to a few hours with them in their world. and professor of English at Lasell College, one of their favorite restaurants. Newton, Massachusetts.

From Gary Schaub

From left, Arthur and Barbara Gelb, Ric Burns and Kiera Chaplin at a discussion on March 4, 2006, following the Tao House preview of the Ric Burns documentary titled Eugene O‘Neill, a Documentary Barbara and Arthur Gelb at a book signing at Tao Film, part of the PBS American Experience series. Kiera Chaplin, House in March 2006 with former Eugene O'Neill Na- then 24, is the great-granddaughter of Eugene and Agnes Boulton tional Historic Site NPS Superintendent Martha Lee. O’Neill and granddaughter of Charlie and Oona O’Neill Chaplin. The book, O’Neill: Life with Monte Cristo, was billed as ―the first volume of the completely rewritten biogra- PHOTOS: GARY SCHAUB phy of America's only Nobel Prize-winning playwright.‖

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 7 April 2017

The End of an Era: The Passing of the Gelbs (continued) More O‟Neillians share their photos and memories of Arthur and Barbara

From Chris Westgate myself to Bar- bara and Arthur Because I came to the O‘Neill Society but we shared relatively recently, I had few encoun- only a moment‘s ters with Barbara or Arthur Gelb. My pleasantries be- first conference was at Tao House in fore we all piled 2008 and I was too overwhelmed by into the bus to the place and the Society to say much tour O‘Neill‘s of anything to anyone. haunts. And by the time of the A discussion of the opera A Blizzard in Marblehead Neck at the conference in New York City conference in 2011: Tony Kushner, Arthur Gelb, Bar- New London in bara Gelb, Jeanine Tesori and Jackson Bryer PHOTOS: DON SCHINNERER 2014 Arthur was gone, and it wasn‘t clear that Bar- hopeful and yet tinged with loss. How bara would be able to attend the con- could they not be? ference. During her talk, I was struck by how In the end, she did come and shared generous and courageous it was for with us stories about the long-term her to share such stories, and clearly I project of writing biographies about wasn‘t alone since she received a O‘Neill with and without Arthur, and standing ovation when she was done. the specifics of By Women Possessed, Although I knew Barbara for all too stories that were surprisingly personal Barbara Gelb at the New York City con- brief a time, I feel like I came to know and undoubtedly painful since she was ference in 2011 a great deal about her during that talk still mourning the loss of her husband. in New London. She will be greatly The stories were funny and charming When we were in New York City for missed. and moving. They were revealing and the conference in 2011, I introduced

From other members Left, Arthur and Barbara as seen by Justin Robertson (Squigs), who poses with his drawing and its inspiration, the Gelbs, below.

Jeff Kennedy, 2011 conference chair, with Barbara and Arthur Gelb. The O‘Neill Society presented Arthur kind of the ―reigning‖ caricaturist and Barbara with a caricature of them on Broadway. We had him draw by Justin Robertson, known as Arthur and Barbara as a gift for ―Squigs‖ in the industry. Squigs is now their help on the 2011 Conference. PHOTOS: DAVID ERRIGO Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 8 April 2017

The End of an Era: The Passing of the Gelbs (and other valued O’Neillians)

Marking O‟Neill‟s birthplace in 2000

Niall O’Dowd, founding publisher of Irish America magazine, presents the 2012 Irish Spirit Award, a House of Waterford Crystal Cliffs of Moher vase, to Arthur and Barbara Gelb, who flank him. Maureen Dowd, right, introduced the honorees as “my favorite Irish cousins, the O’Gelbs.” Meet the O‟Gelbs Maureen Dowd knows Irish. The Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist says, ―My mom always said the Jews and On October 16, 2000, staunch O’Neill supporters gather to dedicate the the Irish had an affinity. … born with the gift of laughter and a plaque marking the birthplace of Eugene O’Neill. The dramatist was sense that the world was mad. They had a saying [that] can be born into his theatrical heritage on October 16, 1888, at 43rd and applied to The New York Times: It is a place where the Jews Broadway, the location that was then the Barrett House. Pictured are drink like Irish and the Irish think like Jews!‖ Sam “Biff” Liff, senior vice president, William Morris Agency; Arthur Gelb, former managing editor of The New York Times and O’Neill Thus she introduced former Times managing editor Arthur biographer; Paul Libin, executive vice president, Jujamcyn Theatres, and Gelb and his wife Barbara Gelb, winners of Irish America maga- formerly producing director of Circle in the Square Theatre; Barbara zine‘s 2012 Irish Spirit Award. Dowd presented the award to Gelb, O’Neill biographer, author and playwright; Jason Robards, Jr., ―my favorite Irish cousins, the O‘Gelbs,‖ at the Irish America performer of many O’Neill roles; and George C. White, founder of the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on March 14 at the New Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. York Yacht Club. PHOTO: SHEILA HICKEY GARVEY (From the Eugene O’Neill Society Newsletter, November 2016.) ―More than anyone else I know, Barbara and Arthur Gelb deserve the spirit of Ireland award because for 55 years, they A vast body of work—and humanity have lived inside the head of Eugene O‘Neill–and that is a very scary place to be,‖ Dowd said.

No memoir of the Gelbs would be com- The Gelbs wrote O’Neill, their first biography of Eugene plete without mention of their body of O‘Neill, in 1962, and their second, Life with Monte Cristo, in work, yet no brief memoir could contain all 2000. Their final O‘Neill work, By Women Possessed, will be of it. Besides their three O‘Neill biogra- published in late 2012 (Putnam). Barbara has also written My phies, Barbara wrote a one-woman play, My Gene, a play starring Colleen Dewhurst and based on Gene, that was produced with Colleen O‘Neill‘s widow Carlotta Monterey. In addition, the Gelbs Dewhurst in the lead. Arthur wrote City have collaborated with Ric Burns as writers of the PBS docu- Room, a critically acclaimed memoir of his mentary, O’Neill. days with The New York Times. They both worked with Ric Burns on Eugene O’Neill: A Documentary Film, part of the PBS Arthur and Barbara Gelb, both active O‘Neillians, are mem- American Experience series—and they did so much more. bers of the Eugene O‘Neill Society Honorary Board. Yet they always had time to be thoughtful, caring friends. —Jo Morello PHOTO: SADE JOSEPH & IRISH AMERICA MAGAZINE

Their passing leaves a gaping hole in our culture and, for those who knew them, in our hearts. —Jo Morello (From the Eugene O’Neill Society Newsletter, Summer 2012)

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 9 April 2017

Eugene O’Neill: Ireland, The Constant Presence (July 19-22, 2017) 10th Annual Eugene O‟Neill Conference opens July 19

Part 1: Conference highlights and details

By Jo Morello (Helen) Xu, Nanjing Normal University National University of Ireland, Galway. with Robert M. Dowling, Central Con- In just three months, on July 19, the necticut University; and a featured lec- Overall the conference promises to be Eugene O‘Neill Society will convene its ture by Dan Murphy, University of four days of education, enlightenment, Tenth International Conference on Notre Dame. and entertainment, along with opportu- O‘Neill under the unifying theme nities for friendship and fun. ―Eugene O‘Neill: Ireland, the Constant Attendees can also look forward to the Presence" at the National Medallion Banquet—the highlight of National University of Ireland, Galway, University of Ireland, Galway. every O‘Neill conference—when the has established a website with a full Society awards its highest recognition, menu of conference details including ―It will be a thoroughly memorable con- the Eugene O‘Neill Medallion, to se- registration, accommodations, complete ference, not to mention historic, given lected honorees who have significantly conference schedule, travel notes and attendance and a lecture by Michael D. advanced the work started by O‘Neill. other useful information. Registration is Higgins, president of Ireland,‖ said Nel- Medallions will be presented to actors set at €140 for delegates and €65 for son O‘Ceallaigh Ritschel, conference co- Gabriel Byrne and Jessica Lange for their students (roughly $150 and $70 respec- chair. ―I imagine that this will be the first interpretations of O‘Neill‘s plays, and to tively at this writing). time that a head of state has attended an Society members Steven Bloom, board O'Neill conference.‖ chair; Robert M. Dowling, vice president The Society presented extensive infor- and O‘Neill biographer; and William mation about the conference, its co- By the time the conference wraps on Davies King, editor emeritus of The chairs and key participants in the Spring July 22, attendees will have had the op- Eugene O’Neill Review. and Fall 2016 issues of this newsletter. portunity to hear 43 scheduled papers Read the articles, learn about the people plus a keynote address by Declan Another noteworthy event will be a you‘ll be meeting, register, then pack Kiberd, University of Notre Dame; ple- production of The Second Girl by Ronan your bags! nary addresses by Gerardine Meaney, Noone, directed by Thomas Conway, University College Dublin, Shiyan Druid Theatre Director in Residence, See you in Galway!

Part 2: Why O‟Neill still matters, in Ireland and elsewhere By Nelson O‘Ceallaigh Ritschel work, family, and his temperament—as the writers who have attempted to ex- well as other aspects of O‘Neill‘s life. plain me and my work have over- While never setting foot on Irish soil, looked.‖ Ireland‘s presence was an integral force O‘Neill himself remarked: "The one in Eugene Gladstone O‘Neill‘s life and thing that explains more than anything The son of Famine immigrant James dramatic canon. The conference will about me is the fact that I‘m Irish. And, O‘Neill from County Kilkenny and sec- explore this presence through O‘Neill‘s strangely enough, it is something that all (Continued on page 11) Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 10 April 2017

Eugene O’Neill: Ireland, The Constant Presence (July 19-22, 2017) about peas- Why O‟Neill still matters ants and (Continued from page 10) bogs and ond-generation American Mary Ella hovels!‖ Quinlan, daughter of Famine immigrants from County Tipperary, O‘Neill embod- On receiv- ied the American journey for many of ing his No- the nineteenth-century-born Irish—and bel Prize, like many, that past was never far from O‘Neill was the present. Shaped by his father‘s life- c o n g r a t u - long fear of returning to abject poverty Winners of The Nobel Prize for Literature and Year Won lated by the while conscious of Ireland‘s 1880s quest Irish gov- From left, William Butler Yeats, 1923; George Bernard Shaw, 1925 for Home Rule, and jolted by his ernment— Eugene Gladstone O’Neill, 1936. PHOTOS: Yeats in 1903 and O’Neill, un- mother‘s suffering despite her Catholi- joining Irish dated, both by ALICE BOUGHTON; Shaw in 1911 by LANGDON COBURN cism, O‘Neill began finding his dramatic Nobel lau- voice after witnessing the Abbey Thea- the Irish Academy of Letters, O‘Neill set reate authors Yeats, Shaw, and later tre‘s 1911 tour of the eastern United forth on a cycle that led to that most Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. States. Irish of plays, A Touch of a Poet. In addi- Furthermore, Ireland‘s interest in tion, Long Day’s Journey Into Night rings O‘Neill has existed steadily since the Embracing the Abbey‘s Dublin theatre with Ireland‘s presence, which for James Dublin Drama League‘s 1922 staging of traditions, O‘Neill set forth on a career Tyrone was still a source of pride de- Diff’rent, and has included more re- that followed realism and experimenta- spite everything: ―And keep your dirty cent productions by Galway‘s ac- tion. Following W. B. Yeats and G. Ber- tongue off Ireland, with your sneers claimed Druid Theatre. nard Shaw‘s 1932 inclusion of O‘Neill in

Sinclair Lewis, Eugene O‟Neill and the Nobel Prize for Literature By Jo Morello of neat and competent trickery to to the tornado, the earthquake, a world of splendor and fear and the devastating fire. Many view the awarding of The Nobel greatness, you would have been The Nobel committee did award its Prize as a validation of a person‘s reminded that he has done some- prize to O‘Neill in 1936, making him work. Sinclair Lewis, chosen in 1930 as thing far worse than scoffing—he the first—and still the only— the first American recipient of the No- has seen life as not to be neatly American playwright to be so hon- bel prize for literature, accepted his arranged in the study of a scholar ored. To Lewis‘s way of thinking, honor with a somewhat iconoclastic but as a terrifying, magnificent, the prize was delayed. To O‘Neill it speech in which he lamented that the and often quite horrible thing akin was premature. He viewed the No- Nobel committee had not bestowed bel as recognition for a lifetime of its honors instead on Eugene exemplary work, bestowed at the O‘Neill. Longtime O‘Neillian J Ra- end of a career. nelli, former artistic director of the Eugene O‘Neill Theater Center, has O‘Neill claimed he still had his best submitted an excerpt from Lewis‘s work ahead of him—and indeed he speech. Among other remarks, did. Despite a crippling, progressive Lewis famously told the committee: disease that left him unable to write for the last ten years of his life, after And had you chosen Mr. Eugene the Nobel in 1936 he went on to O'Neill, who has done nothing write his ―Tao House plays,‖ includ- much in American drama save to ing The Iceman Cometh, Long Day’s transform it utterly, in ten or Eugene O’Neill’s Nobel Prize certificate Journey Into Night, Hughie, and A twelve years, from a false world BEINECKE LIBRARY, YALE UNIVERSITY Moon for the Misbegotten.

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 11 April 2017

Eugene O’Neill: Ireland, The Constant Presence (July 19-22, 2017) Part 3. Travel information from the conference co-chairs Galway is a major tourist destination TripAdvisor also recommends bus They can be ordered from the hotel in the west of Ireland, on picturesque over train from Shannon to Galway desk, or engaged on the roads. The Galway Bay, easy to reach from Shan- given that buses depart and arrive at fare to the National University of Ire- non and Dublin Airports. the airport's arrival and departure land Galway (NUIG) campus from Ju- gates. Staff personnel at Shannon Air- rys Inn (Galway center) is very reason- Shannon Airport to Galway port will be polite and willing to assist. able as it is a short ride. Some taxis are small vans, so many can share a The link to Bus Eireann, Ireland's pub- taxi. The hotel folks are very accom- lic bus service, is h t t p : / / modating and might be able to order www.buseireann.ie/inner.php?id=251 larger taxis the night before. In addi- tion, the taxi drivers in Galway tend to Car rental at Shannon be very polite and talkative. Car rentals are also available at Shan- non airport (Hertz, etc.). A few people One can walk from Jurys Inn to NUIG, could share a vehicle, for example. but some folks might find the walk to The most direct route to Galway from The problem with this might be park- be on the long side, but the taxis can outside Ireland is Shannon Airport, in ing in Galway, which can be difficult handle it. County Clare. There is a direct bus during the summer. Some B & Bs pro- connection from Shannon airport to vide parking, if one elects to stay in Folks should not be wary of traveling Galway city center. Buses depart from B&B. to Galway from Shannon, and Dublin the airport arrival gate, and return to is a wonderful literary and theatrical the airport at the departure gate. It Dublin Airport to Galway city should folks chose to extend their cannot be simpler. Travel from Dublin to Galway is com- Irish visits. fortable and easy. If one flies into Dub- Bus tickets can be purchased online or lin, then rail is the way to travel across at the airport, at well-marked loca- to Dublin from Hueston Station. The tions. Again, this is the most direct cost one way is 36.50 Euros. Student way to travel from Shannon airport to rates are less. The link to Irish rail is: Galway center. The cost is 9.50 Euros http://www.irishrail.ie/fares-and- one way. Of course, prices might rise tickets/dublin-galway slightly during the summer, but that is not reflected now. Student rates are Travel within Galway less. Taxis are in abundance in Galway. Galway City Centre

Galway International Arts Festival include two theatrical productions celebrates its 40th Anniversary with (Woyzeck in Winter and Tristan & world-premiere theatre, major art Yseult) and three musical performances exhibitions and a stellar music line-up (Gavin James. Brian Wilson, of events. The two-week festival will Passenger). announce its full schedule on or about The Absolut Festival Big Top tent will rises to May 1. GIAF is already selling tickets For more information, click HERE. house Ireland's largest annual arts festival, for the acts already announced. These running for two weeks in July.

Eugene O‘Neill Society Page 12 Aril 2017

Eugene O’Neill: The Constant Presence—Ireland (July 19-22, 2017) Absence of “The Constant Presence” in Ireland

The theme of the Society‘s 10th International Conference is ―Eugene O‘Neill: Ireland, The Constant Presence.‖ In reality, O‘Neill‘s time in Ireland is best described as ―The Constant Absence.‖

Here was a man who famously told his son Eugene Jr., "One thing that explains more than anything else about me is the fact that I'm Irish.‖ As a monied world traveler and ex-pat resident of France, he could go anywhere he chose. Surely he‘d longed for and would chose to visit his motherland! Yet he never did. Many have speculated on his reason. In his essay below on the subject, Michael FitzGerald (a most Irish name) challenges O‘Neillians to provide an answer to that decades-old question.

Jo Morello

A Penny for Lifting the Irish Veil

By Michael FitzGerald hope for Ireland's political and reli- gious autonomy. He knew Joyce's veil A penny for your thoughts, O'Neil- of exile. He knew Sean O'Casey's forg- lians. The thrice-married Eugene ing of art. He knew the bridal veil of O'Neill certainly had his share of diffi- his first marriage (though taken in culties in kissing the bride. Just the honor to uphold the mother-to-be) same, there is another veil he never solidified his "outcaste," like his ances- lifted. A "black Irishman" through and tors, status. Once fame (and to some through, he never came to Ireland to extent, infamy) attained, though, why view the spots where the Spanish Ar- Gort, County Galway, Ireland did he not return to Ireland the prodi- mada turned to wreckage and fodder associated vernacular, both in humor gal son, or, the pontificating or humble in the waves lashing the west coast of and anger. I have a question of Poet? Ireland. O'Neill's admirers, be they Russian or Inuit. No, his veil of exile was never lifted, Why, do you suppose, he refrained? bless his heart. With O'Neillians re- As O'Neillians worldwide gather for a The ―black‖ Irishman-influenced play- turning to Ireland, let us exchange our conference on Galway's shores wright would not lift his "veil" of exile pennies on O'Neill's veil, in the session (figuratively) in July, will we truly at- from Ireland, though he wove things Q & As, or as we wander the haunts tempt to lift the veil of his restraint? Irish throughout his canon as he of the Irish literati at Gort, or the Ar- launched and continued his mada at the cliffs of Moher. Certainly O'Neill possessed what "dramatically imag-

Robert Edmond Jones described as ined" assault on "the dramatic imagination." Are we to the American believe the playwright had no affinity stage of his father. for his ancestry (obviously not) or de- Why? sire to lift his own self-imposed veil of exile? Eugene O'Neill knew his ances- The Poet touched on things Irish on tors marched an many a stage, drove characters to de- army through the nouements of stereotypically Irish "vale of Tralee" in flaws, and gave sparks of Irish- a near desperate Cliffs of Moher at sunset; County Galway, Ireland

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 13 April 2017

Eugene O’Neill: The Constant Presence—On stage (Mar. 25 - Apr 22, 2017) Supersized to Right Size: the Old Vic‟s production of The Hairy Ape comes to The Armory in New York

by Sheila Hickey Garvey easy to imagine how it could house stoker‘s boiler room appears in the military drill units and wartime vehi- form of a cage. Its color is a hue de- Eugene O'Neill's 1922 expressionist mini- cles, equipment and supplies. Just as scribed as sulfur to recall the acrid masterwork The Hairy Ape has been given quickly the sight of the bright yellow smell that the stokers inhale minute by a dynamic new life through Richard audience-seating risers awaken any minute while trapped for excessive Jones‘s re-imagined production that was tendencies toward vertigo while blind- hours in their worker‘s cage. first staged at London‘s Old Vic in the ing the eyes. Because the risers are so Fall of 2015. It is more than the produc- steeply inclined, however, there isn‘t a Even an area of windows above and tion of a play; it is a performance event. bad seat in the hall. before the audience, which remains unseen until lit, is used as performance Jones and his creative team fill the cav- space during a sequence in which Yank ernous Wade Thompson Drill Hall in is abandoned by the prisoner that New York‘s Armory, located at 67th seems to be his only hope for a friend. and Park Avenue, by amply serving up a We see the man run away from Yank rich sampling from 20th Century anti- as he crosses the drill hall area and realist movements (Expressionism, Con- disappears into the darkness. He then structivism). Iconic images and sounds returns, still retreating, but above and drawn from artistic geniuses such as Pis- The entering audience is required to in front of the audience, now smaller in cator, Brecht, Lang, and Chaplin are also cross over a semicircle that fully sur- perspective as he is seen passing be- adapted by the design team from the rounds the bank of seats and revolves fore the Armory‘s upper bank of win- original Old Vic production (Stewart when activated during the perform- dows. Laing, sets; Aletta Collins, choreography; ance. The backstage technical staff, Mimi Jordan Sherin, lighting; and Sarah who are present to the audience‘s Another eerily playful surprise arrives Angliss, composer/sound design). By the view before and after the performance, as a gigantic balloon that is floated end of the performance it‘s clear the load and unload the oversized set across the auditorium. It serves as an entire production company, relished the pieces on to the revolve, which serves iconic O‘Neillian full moon except that freedom to expand their initial vision as a conveyor belt. It crosses before the man-in-moon‘s face is replaced because of the opportunity afforded by the audience, pauses for scenic use, with that of Mildred‘s Steel Tycoon the Drill Hall‘s magnitude. and then circles off to be readied for father, replete with oversized ears. an upcoming scene. Entering the performance space one is The production is further supported and immediately struck by the scale of the During the performance, the color of enhanced by more recently advanced room because of its height, expansive- the risers is mimicked and reflected sound technology. Thankfully, the ac- ness and openness. Being there made it back to the audience when the tors are amply miked, a vocal support that is well needed by the cast because of the scale of the facility—one not originally designed as a performance space and inherent with acoustic chal- lenges.

Auditory design is a key element in this

(Continued on page 15)

PHOTOS: SEATS, ROBERT M. DOWLING; ALL OTHERS: STEPHANIE BERGER. Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 14 April 2017

Eugene O’Neill: The Constant Presence—On stage (Mar. 25 - Apr 22, 2017) The Hairy Ape male capable of embodying Yank‘s smol- Constable‘s sonorous Irish tenor sing- dering anger and bursts of psychic out- ing voice echoes throughout the audi- (Continued from page 14) rage. Yet, when necessary he is riveting torium on his character‘s final exit. It is production. The auditorium is en- and mysterious when still much like the a reminder of forsaken natural beauty. dowed with surround sound amplifica- ape he eventually embraces in the Cen- tion, allowing the audience to experi- tral Park zoo. ence the same sensory assault that

Yank and his fellow stokers endure on Cannavale leads a vital ensemble. The a minute-by-minute basis while they remaining cast takes on numerous char- work in the bowels of the ship. acters in the play while executing group

choreography sequences. The actors are The actors freeze their movement at times masked and become unison when they hear the creaking of the configurations, making them appear regi- ship‘s underpinnings, a sound that gives mented and robotic. For scenes taking the impression the bolts are about to burst. Also heard are the thumping and A petite Mildred (Becky Ann Baker), pounding sounds of the ship‘s engine– the daughter of the steel industrialist, one of O‘Neill‘s telling uses of heart exaggerates her character‘s spoiled, beats. These are auditory reminders that selfish nature. It‘s a choice that sets up the modern world is not just seen but her fall from grace once she is faced often heard as a cacophony of disparate with Yank and the boiler room. tones.

After verbally dehumanizing Yank, she Although the artistic team is British, the is shown to be inadequate to cope production has been recast with Ameri- with the implications of her collusion can actors. Bobby Cannavale plays Yank, in America‘s social/economic contract the universal representation of a ship‘s by fainting not once but three times. stoker. Cannavale gives might, heart and Her frail, limp body is very slowly and growling vocal intensity to O‘Neill‘s place in the ship‘s cage-like boiler room, ritualistically carried through the audi- Everyman, one whose efforts to think cast members are required to execute ence and up the very steep sulfur- col- about his life brings him to embark on an bold, gymnastic movements that are ored risers by actor Martin Junek as excruciatingly futile search to belong in a reminiscent of a Pina Bausch dance piece the ship‘s 2nd Officer. It is definitive world—or in this instance a city—that is in which performers stomp and hurl visual evidence that Mildred and her overtly and violently hostile to his very their bodies against furniture, floors and class are useless. right to existence. ceilings. Such choreographed sequences

convey the precision but also dehu- The episodic plot centers on Yank‘s sud- Since Yank is required to be a true manization of automation and industri- den awareness that he is not in control ―force of nature,‖ casting that matched alization. of his life, but that he is instead con- the operatic scale of Jones‘s revival was trolled by the one percent—or in this essential. Cannavale is a potent alpha As Paddy, actor David Costabile instance the mini-class of the Gilded Age. matches Cannavale‘s weight of animal passion through poetic speeches in As the story unfolds and Yank wanders which he points out to Yank their re- desperately throughout the cavernous duced quality of life, one lost when the military space that transforms to repre- glorious age of wind-driven sailing was sent a vast, indifferent New York City, replaced with boats powered by an uncomfortable metaphor represent- engines. ing the viewer‘s typical day in the city is (Continued on page 16)

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 15 April 2017

Eugene O’Neill: The Constant Presence—On stage (Mar. 25 - Apr 22, 2017) “A Hairy Ape for the 21st Century: Artist Talk” at Park Avenue Armory

Hairy Ape, which Media Reviews was presented at In ―The Caged Beast Awak- the Park Avenue ens,‖ (4/1/17), Ben Brantley of The Armory in New New York Times described Jones‘s re- York City from vival, designed by Stewart Laird, as March 25-April ―mesmerizing…ravishing,‖ and Canna- 22. The discus- vale as ―the perfect odd man out in a sion, titled ―A dehumanizing world of machines, lit- Hairy Ape for the eral and otherwise.‖ 21st Century: Artists Talk,‖ The headline for The Daily Beast re- O’Neill biographer and Society VP Robert M. Dowling, The Hairy was presented view by David Freedlander (3/31/17) Ape director Richard Jones, and actor Bobby Cannavale discuss the before a live says, ―‗The Hairy Ape‘ at the Park challenges of presenting Eugene O’Neill’s play nearly 100 years after audience on Avenue Armory Is Eugene O‘Neill At its first production by the Provincetown Players in 1922. March 31st. His Most Epic…as staged in the 55,000 PHOTO: KATHERINE SUGG (Click HERE for square foot space of NYC‘s Park Ave- the interview.) nue Armory, [it] is a work of art: a Society vice president Robert M. Dowling painting, or a puppet show perhaps. interviewed British director Richard Dowling is a Eugene O‘Neill scholar You don‘t see it, so much as sink into Jones and stage and screen star Bobby and professor of English at Central it…It is not possible to look away, Cannavale (Robert ―Yank‖ Smith) Connecticut State University.) even for a moment. about the Old Vic‘s revival of The

American Yanks. The Hairy Ape Meet Mildew Douglas (Continued from page 15) As the grand mechanisms of the 21st By Jo Morello now seen from Yank‘s perspective, or Century‘s grind foreword, the meaning more likely Mildred‘s perspective be- E u g e n e cause, in truth, the price of admission O‘Neill and was afforded. t h e n - w i f e Agnes Boulton The Armory‘s location and its interior, met actress designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and Carlotta Mon- Stanford White, reverberates with terey for the meaning. The Amory was built by the first time city‘s wealthy for their descendants, then backstage at serving in the American Civil War. the Plymouth of Yank‘s existential suffering continues. Theatre in 1922, where Monterey was Fifth Avenue is Mildred‘s address. Mon- playing the role of Mildred Douglas in ies that fund modern philanthropies— Britain‘s blue-collar Liverpool history The Hairy Ape. It was hate-at-first-sight. named after Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Frick, also shines knowledgeably and forcefully Years later, after Carlotta had wooed Rockefeller and Mellon—are also those in this stellar production. The Old Vic‘s Gene from Agnes to become his third donated by patrons of New York‘s mu- grand re-mastering of The Hairy Ape, one wife, they discussed his low opinion of seum mile, only two blocks away from super-sized to right size, proves Monterey‘s performance. He had the performance. It is too often forgot- O‘Neill‘s efforts to raise American snidely dubbed her ―Mildew Douglas.‖ ten that these are the same names that drama to classical stature was indeed earned their millions on the backs of worthy of the Nobel prize. Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 16 April 2017

O’Neill: The Constant Presence—on stage (January 31-March 18, 2017) Edmund‟s Play: Long Day‟s Journey at the Geffen Playhouse

By William Davies King

Working as dramaturg on the recent Geffen Playhouse production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night was something of a dream for me and a fas- cinating way of extend- ing the material that came together in my Left, Brotherly love: Edmund (Colin Woodell) and Jamie (Stephen Louis Grush). Right, Motherly love: Jamie, multimedia edition of Edmund and Mary Tyrone (Jane Kaczmarek). PHOTOS: CHRIS WHITAKER the play (Yale University Press, 2016). The show was directed emerging vision of the play, I could see opens), O‘Neill‘s leave-taking of his by Jeanie Hackett, who was until re- the play coming to life in performance. tangled past is a merger into art. cently the artistic director of Antaeus Theater Company in Los Angeles and Using the Lincoln Center Library col- Hackett ended up using O‘Neill‘s voice who has also worked at Williamstown, lection and the various DVDs and VHS and the images of his family to frame the Wallis Annenberg Center, LA tapes, YouTube clips, and available this production as a memory play, and Theatre Works and many other com- texts, Hackett developed an extraordi- she staged the metatheatrical presence panies. She‘s a specialist in the reinter- nary grasp of the choices previously of an O‘Neill who is both author and pretation of classic plays (notably made in performing the play. O‘Neill‘s character, one who speaks in and Chekhov) and novels (notably Jeffrey masterwork was written, in a sense, in through the play. She had the coop- Hatcher‘s adaptation of Balzac‘s Cousin rehearsal. The drama is a restaging of eration and the exploratory fervor of Bette). Her roots in O‘Neill go back to the transformation that made the a superb young actor named Colin playing the part of Belle in the 1983 drama possible—four characters in Woodell to give greater centrality and Roundabout Theatre Company pro- search of an author in search of four presence and depth to the character duction of Ah, Wilderness! characters (haunted Tyrones). She of Edmund than I have ever seen. knew from the start that the play be- After the Geffen‘s production had gins and ends with Edmund. Stephen Louis Grush, as Jamie, defied been scheduled, Hackett‘s husband ideality in the gruesome, gut-defined Young Ji, who is associate artistic di- She was struck by the rare audio clips way he embodied Jamie. When he rector of the Geffen, came upon my of O‘Neill‘s voice reading a few seg- spoke those same lines from Swin- edition, noticed my proximity to LA, ments of the play into a wire recorder burne at the end of the final act, you and suggested some sort of conversa- in 1942, and especially the sound of his could sense how far poetry, even ex- tion on the play. That quickly devel- voice reading the Swinburne poem (―A cellent poetry, falls from assuaging the oped into a weekend visit with Jeanie Leave-Taking‖), which Jamie oddly re- wounds of reality. No character in and Young in Santa Barbara and a deep cites near the end of the play as Mary drama makes us so aware of the insuf- dive into the O‘Neill material I have Tyrone drags her wedding dress ficiencies of art, and paradoxically by accumulated—pictures, manuscripts, through the midnight of a long day in his art. Grush made that clear. anecdotes, scholarship, free-floating August 1912. It‘s ―morbid,‖ says James myth, stubborn fact, and, most pre- Tyrone in chiding his eldest son, but in Oddly, the dissonance—I‘d even say cious of all, the mysteries: the deli- the voice of his youngest ―son‖ (the the defiance—in the production came cious, aching, unresolvable questions son that rises—―Let us rise up and from its stars, Alfred Molina and Jane we all ponder about this play. In her part‖ is the way the second stanza (Continued on page 18)

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 17 April 2017

O’Neill: The Constant Presence—on stage (January 31-March 18, 2017) Geffen‟s LDJIN: a translucent metaphor of sight and sound

(Continued from page 17) sound design all served to create a Nietzschean realization as ―more mor- Kaczmarek. Both (in different ways) subconscious atmosphere in which the bidness,‖ though you know on some stood in the path of the director‘s re- audience could experience O‘Neill‘s level he knows it too.) When, in Ed- centering of the play on its emergent play, but Kaczmarek‘s Mary and mund‘s famous reminiscence of (self-destructive) younger generation. Molina‘s Tyrone resisted absorption memories associated with the sea, he In rehearsal it was evident how they into that environment. speaks of ―the veil of things as they both cast back to the past—the char- seem drawn back by an unseen hand,‖ acters‘ displaced youth and their own The production was live-streamed by you understand that his deepest ex- roots in acting—to challenge or defy Broadway HD—the first non-New perience of being ―at sea‖ was at Edmund‘s act of re-creation and Ja- York production to be offered home with father, mother, and mie‘s act of self-destruction. through that organization—and in a brother. couple of months an edited version, put together from a matinee and eve- In The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche ning performance the week before the wrote: ―The metaphysical comfort— production closed—will be available with which, I am suggesting even now, for a fee. Edmund will be present on every true tragedy leaves us—that life the forestage and ready to take you is at the bottom of things, despite all into his play. the changes of appearances, indestruc- tibly powerful and pleasurable—this Still, a flat screen, no matter how high comfort appears in incarnate clarity in James (Alfred Molina) and Edmund the definition, will not quite capture the chorus of the satyrs, a chorus of Molina played a remarkably lovable the translucency of this production, natural beings who live ineradicably, as plush bear of a James Tyrone, a man which is scenically an effect of sheer it were, behind all civilization and re- out of his depth in this desperately fabrics and oceans of hazy light, and main eternally the same, despite the seeking family. He had great scenes of sonically an effect of intertwined changes of generations and of the his- shattering poignancy and others of voices and distant melodies, but is tory of nations.‖ warm humor, and he brought in a rich metaphorically an effect of O‘Neill‘s array of effects from the old school of knowing this home through and In that spirit, I will always go back to acting, which is where his character through as the one he could never the conversation I was fortunate to originates, but ultimately, right up escape. have with Jeanie Hackett‘s Long Day’s through the end, James Tyrone does Journey. not get it. Edmund‘s occu- pation of the It is generally supposed that Mary does house in this get it, that O‘Neill gives her the play‘s production last line because she is/has the realiza- seemed to be tion of the ―deep pity and understand- locked in what ing and forgiveness‖ he was seeking in Nietzsche called writing the play. But Jane Kaczmarek ―eternal recur- had, it seems, her own agenda—or rence‖ as he bone to pick—and so her perform- touched every ance, though it sometimes brought surface and vis- fresh energy to familiar lines, seemed ited every cor- out of touch with the production the ner on stage and director was setting on this stage. The off. (Tyrone dis- The four haunted Tyrones: James, Edmund, Mary and Jamie. stunning set, lighting, projection, and misses the PHOTOS: CHRIS WHITAKER Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 18 April 2017

O’Neill: The Constant Presence—on stage (April 1-30, 2017) Long Day‟s Journey Into Night at Monte Cristo Cottage

By Kurt Eisen Hayden‘s phrase, but far more so with cutting is not staged, nor is James‘s a full performance of the play it in- dilatory chat with old Captain Turner.) The theater is always haunted by its spired. ghosts, but the Flock Theatre‘s pro- duction this spring of Long Day’s Jour- The Flock Theatre, a local New Lon- ney Into Night in Monte Cristo Cottage don company under the artistic direc- is positively crawling with them. Amaz- tion of Derron Wood, has undertaken ing as it sounds, this is the first pro- what seems to be a must-do project, duction of O‘Neill‘s autobiographical but actually comes with certain psy- masterpiece performed on site, as it chic, one wants to say, paranormal were, in the New London, Connecti- challenges. The performance of this cut, house that was the playwright‘s play feels eerie, as if violating a sacred family‘s summer home in his youth and space. The more immediate issue, says Audience seating in Monte Cristo Cottage his direct model for the play‘s setting. Wood, was the big New York revival last summer at the Roundabout star- To accommodate an audience, twenty- Indeed, performing Long Day’s Journey ring Jessica Lange and Gabriel Byrne five chairs are squeezed in three rows at Monte Cristo Cottage is rather like that locked down the rights to the into one end of the Monte Cristo‘s doing Inherit the Wind at the court- play for regional companies until re- tiny sitting room where all the play‘s house in Dayton, Tennessee, or Mur- cently. dialogue takes place, truly a ―chamber der in the Cathedral in the cathedral at drama.‖ The intimacy of the play-going Canterbury. Those latter two spaces, Most theatrical settings are built to experience makes it seem participa- however, were built as public gather- accommodate the director‘s vision of tory, as if the audience is there to help ing places, whereas the O‘Neill family the play. Wood‘s approach of neces- the actors fend off the house‘s ghosts. summer home was supposed to be a sity conforms to the dimensions and The appealing cast features Christie refuge from public life, especially the décor of the cottage as it is. Similarly, Williams as James Tyrone, Anne Flam- world of his father‘s theater career in his actors faced not only the usual mang as Mary, Eric Michaellan as Jamie, the later 19th and early 20th centu- challenges and anxieties of stage per- and Victor Chiburis as Edmund, with ries. Admitting the public has always formance, especially these very chal- Amy Bentley as the maid Cathleen. seemed an intrusion into ―the chronic lenging roles, but also the ghosts that angers of that house,‖ in poet Robert seem palpable lingering occupants of The production includes a three-hour Monte Cristo Cottage. Those who break between acts two and three, to know the play well say nothing of the extended all-day

can feel a certain spread of three special Saturday per- thrill as James and formances with three such breaks. Jamie Tyrone go Audience members have an opportu- outside to cut the nity not only to eat supper, but also to hedge at the end of explore the house and New London act one, and are environs, including a tour offered by moved to visualize Derron Wood of the venerable Mary‘s recollected Thames Club, where James O‘Neill suicide attempt in repaired of an evening to hobnob and the Thames River gather real estate tips. with those very waters visible from Ironically, certain current features of Victor Chiburis (Edmund), Anne Flammang (Mary), Eric one‘s seat. (Alas, (Continued on page 20) Michaellan (Jamie), and Christie Williams (James Tyrone) the offstage hedge- Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 19 April 2017

O’Neill: The Constant Presence—on stage (April 1-30, 2017) Distance across decades „all but disappears‟ From The Day, Mar. 19, 2017

(Continued from page 19) room‖ or “This production has been a long the house could not be changed to on the time coming for the New London- match the script, notably the contents m a i n based Flock Theatre. Flock Artistic of the two bookcases that represent stairway Director Derron Wood had con- the generational clash in the opening d u r i n g templated the idea for years, … set directions, even though in this pro- her de- [but then a Broadway production duction one could actually read the scent in happened. lettering on the book spines. This and the final other such small but inevitable anach- s c e n e , Flock has a history of staging site- ronisms remind one of the distance that dis- specific work, drawing focus ―to between this performance and the tance all these incredible historic properties lives and events that inspired O‘Neill‘s but disap- and houses that are in this area,‖ play. But when Jamie is crashing into p e a r s . as Wood says. the front steps unseen but highly audi- Director Anne Flammang ble in act four, or especially when W o o d Indeed, the production makes full, Mary‘s footsteps are creaking the and the Flock Theatre can be proud of rich use of the Monte Cristo Cot- floorboards upstairs in the ―spare that. tage itself. . . . The play bubbles with New London references, Wood notes, including to the Thames Club, where the tiles of members‘ silhouettes feature James O‘Neill‘s, and including fic- tional versions of a number of ma- jor figures in town . . . .‖

Read the full review HERE.

HISTORIC PHOTO OF PORCH: THE LINDA Left, Victor Chiburis, Eric Michaellan, Amy Bentley (Cathleen), Anne Flammang and Christie LEAR CENTER FOR SPECIAL COLLEC- Williams pose on the porch of Monte Cristo Cottage in a scene reminiscent of the historic TIONS AND ARCHIVES, CONNECTICUT photo at right, showing Edmund, Jamie and James in 1900. COLLEGE; SEATING: KURT EISEN; ALL OTHERS: A. VINCENT SCARANO Director‟s Notes One of the most important and exciting elements of this house adds an extended level of honesty to the text and per- production is the house becoming a character. The place and formances. space is just as integral to the plot as the characters and writing. Sound is one key element here. In both the house‘s Audiences have time and time again told us they‘ve forgotten vertical and horizontal planes, sound travels differently than they were even watching a play; that they felt they were it would in a theater. You can hear subtleties, such as Mary‘s watching these people‘s lives unfold. One gets an almost stirring upstairs, on a much more intimate and intense level. claustrophobic feeling being in that room with the Tyrones. They are not afforded the distance of a proscenium. They Other elements of naturalism provided by the location also must experience it as the family does. contribute to immersion. For example, during a few rehears- als and performances, the fog has rolled in right on cue with Derron Wood, Director foghorns heard in the distance. As such, O‘Neill‘s stage di- Artistic Director, Flock Theatre rections are honored in a fashion like never before. The

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 20 April 2017

O’Neill: The Constant Presence—on stage (from April 1, EXTENDED to May 22, 2017) Spontaneous reaction to The Emperor Jones: highly theatrical but . . . .

By Samuel J. Bernstein

The current version of The Emperor Jones at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York City is a highly theatrical rendering of the play, even more so than the 2009 production, both of which were directed by Ciaran O‘Reilly. This theatricality, while en- gaging the audience, tends to draw us away somewhat from the complexity of O‘Neill‘s vision.

The play‘s narrative concerns the un- successful efforts of a dictator of a West Indian island, aided by Smithers (Andy Murray), a servile self-serving lackey, to escape the clutches of the Obi Abili (The Emperor Jones) community, which he had exploited and dominated. The dictator‘s name is entire subjugated community that he Even in this first scene, however, re- Brutus Jones, poetically evoking refer- can be killed only by a silver bullet. lated motifs come to the fore. One of ence to Roman imperial rule as well This spontaneous claim enables Brutus the most important is O‘Neill‘s con- as, paradoxically, to the common ex- to maintain his absolute rule over the demnation of social injustice, especially perience of Blacks, particularly in natives, all of whom he considers infe- capitalism. This sensitive reaction by America. rior to himself. O‘Neill is apparent in the Emperor‘s arrogant attitude toward the natives The Emperor is a convicted murderer The initial scene between Brutus and and in his comment to Smithers that who escaped to the island from a Smithers is less than successful. Smith- he learned about economic exploita- chain gang. When a dissident commu- ers seems too hale and hardy, and tion and its results from the wealthy nity member tries to assassinate thus fails to function as a fitting con- people who rode the train where he Brutus, the shooter‘s gun misfires and trast to the Emperor. Secondly, many formerly worked. the quick-witted Brutus convinces the of lines delivered by Smithers are muf- fled, and some of The connection between the sus-

these contain obscure penseful Emperor-escape motif and information that the social protest motif becomes would enhance the graphically clear throughout scenes 2- understanding and 7 of this 8-scene play. The Emperor enjoyment of the audi- employs what he learned in white- ence. western America to plan and effect his escape. He hides food, takes essen- From one perspective, tially extorted money, and carries his the primary dramatic revolver containing six bullets, one of question of the play is: which is the silver bullet he formerly Will the Emperor used to trick the natives. manage to escape? (Continued on page 22) Andy Murray (Smithers) and Obi Abili (Emperor Jones)

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 21 April 2017

O’Neill: The Constant Presence—on stage (from April 1, EXTENDED to May 22, 2017) tion by a crocodile god. In each of his The Emperor Jones atrical richness associated with the hallucinatory visions, he fires his gun theatrical conventions that prevailed until his last bullet, the silver bullet, is (Continued from page 21) during the career of James O‘Neill, expended in facing the crocodile Eugene‘s gifted father. god. The gymnastic and choreo- graphic prowess of Obi Abili Eugene O‘Neill as a young writer felt (Emperor Jones) is stirring and that the richness of the visions in his memorable. His ability to shift mind, philosophically and aesthetically, from anguish to simple human were superior to the realized plays as vulnerability is beautifully accom- they were staged. For this reason, it plished. was rare that O‘Neill felt satisfied with

either the acting or the style of the play as produced. In a certain way, this leads us to a consideration of the cur- Despite his in- rent Irish Rep production of The Em- telligence, peror Jones. Brutus, in essentially cast- p h y s i c a l ing off his connection with Western strength, and culture and all its trappings, has en- l o n g - t e r m tered, in O‘Neill‘s conception, an af- predatory be- firmative condition of spiritual peace. havior, his western experience and education fail He had In the to protect him adequately from the gone into m o n o - trials of making his way through the the forest logue by forest to a waiting gunboat. He loses and re- B r u t u s his way, cannot find his food, becomes turned to that is exhausted, and undergoes severe and the same featured immediate psychological deterioration. p o i n t through- That deterioration involves hallucina- f r o m out the forest scenes, the tory visions and the constantly intensi- which he sounds that occur on stage un- fying sounds of a drum. No audience h a d fortunately make it impossible member can fail to be stimulated by started--- for audience members to hear the play‘s rich evocation of the forest. back to every word. Since O‘Neill felt Clearly, a collaborative effort by Mr. his funda- very strongly that he deserved O‘Reilly and a gifted group of artists m e n t a l to be understood as something create the phantasmagoria experi- self. of a poet, the loss of some ele- enced by the Emperor. ments of the language during This pro- these outstanding scenes is re- The forest confrontation of the Em- duction‘s theatricality is unquestiona- grettable. Taking into account the full peror also includes his murderous bly rich, but I wish that the final mo- range of theatrical stimuli (lighting, past, imagined historical scenes of bru- ments of the play had more effectively sound, movement, etc.), it is difficult tal mistreatment on a chain gang, hu- conveyed the affirmative spiritual to imagine a more aesthetic, compel- miliation at a slave auction, and the transformation of its central character. ling rendering of the theatricality of terrors of participating as a rower on these crucial scenes. One might argue a slave ship. Subsequently, he falls prey Photos, from top: Angela Moore; Sinclair that Mr. O‘Reilly was able to demon- to the extremes of native culture as he Mitchell, Obi Abili; Andy Murray; Obi Abili. strate that a major facet of O‘Neill‘s is forced to dance with a witch doctor dramaturgy was grounded in the the- PHOTOS: CAROL ROSEGG and to face the prospect of annihila- Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 22 April 2017

O’Neill: Member News New website provides attractive design, easy navigation By Jeff Kennedy

Our Society has a new web page de- sign as of the end of January! We tried to think about creating a site that would be visually interesting, have all of the information about our Society as well as important resources for our members, and not be difficult to navi- gate. While I‘m sure we‘ll continue to tweak the site over the next months, we hope you like what we‘ve come up with.

At eugeneoneillsociety.org, the sec- tions include a ―Home/Welcome‖ page with a slide show (with photos able to be changed occasionally), an The page for

―About Us‖ page that describes the ―Membership‖ formation of the Society and its work d e s c r i b e s and many benefits to members, and a membership benefits and allows exist-  The ―Facebook‖ link connects to ―Leadership‖ page that lists the cur- ing members to renew and new mem- our Facebook page, where the rent Society board and executive com- bers to join online via PayPal. most current and up-to-the- mittee as well as their contact infor- minute news of all-things O‘Neill mation. Three important links appear at the are posted as they‘re available. bottom of every page: The ―Conference‖ page gives informa-  The ―Resources‖ link provides Our hope is that you‘ll use and return tion about our upcoming conference, to the site often and suggest to others, currently our Galway 2017 conference research and archive information particularly potential members, that and the most current draft of the in O‘Neill Studies. they do the same. One of the goals of schedule. The site also includes a the Society has been to expand our ―Journal‖ page with information about  ―Photo Gallery‖ presents a collec- representation on the web and in so- the Eugene O’Neill Review with a link to tion of pictures that we‘ll con- cial media, and we‘ve taken great JSTOR, where archives of the journal stantly update and add to (the strides in doing so over the last exist. Our ―Newsletter‖ page houses ―More‖ button takes you to multi- months. We invite you to take advan- copies of the last few years of bi- ple pages of photos). tage of these resources! annual Society Newsletters. Fall issue of The Eugene O‟Neill Review focuses on women in O‟Neill‟s world Judith E. Barlow, guest editor of The ―We‘re currently editing several arti- will also include performance reviews Eugene O’Neill Review, is working on a cles about women who influenced or and a review of the new Gelb biogra- special issue devoted to ―The Women were influenced by O‘Neill‘s work; phy of the playwright.‖ in O‘Neill‘s World.‖ This issue of the family and friends who helped shape scholarly journal is scheduled for pub- his career; actors who have appeared Dr. Barlow is professor emerita of lication in the fall. in his plays; and recurrent female ar- English, Women‘s Studies, and Theatre chetypes in his canon,‖ she said. ―We at the University at Albany, SUNY.

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 23 April 2017

O’Neill: Member News: Memberships Membership benefits and special members

The Eugene O‘Neill Society is a member-funded organization that supports itself through membership dues. The mem- bership year runs from January 1 through December 31. Each member receives l All editions of The Eugene O’Neill Re- view published that year l Bi-annual Society Newsletter l Calls for papers for conferences sponsored by the Society and for The Eugene O’Neill Review l Voting rights l A JSTOR account that allows access to all back issues of The Eugene O’Neill Review. Click HERE to join or renew your membership online.

The Society welcomes all members and especially appreciates support from the special memberships and new members

Eugene O‟Neill Society Honorary Board of Directors Stephen A. Black: Past president, Eugene O‘Neill Maura O’Neill Jones: Daughter of Shane O‘Neill; Society; author, scholar granddaughter of Eugene and Agnes O‘Neill Wendy Cooper: Past president, Eugene O‘Neill Margaret Loftus Ranald: Past president, Eugene Foundation, Tao House; past Newsletter editor O‘Neill Society; author, scholar

Frank Cunningham: Scholar, author Diane Schinnerer: Past secretary/treasurer, Eugene

Tom J. A. Olsson: Author, scholar, past International O‘Neill Society; past president, Eugene O‘Neill Secretary, Eugene O‘Neill Society Foundation, Tao House.

Lifetime Members

Stephen A. Black, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada William Davies King, Santa Barbara, CA Colin Brown, Provincetown, MA Martha Manheim, Strafford, VT Robert Dowling New London, CT Margaret Mar, Taipei, Taiwan

Kurt Eisen, Cookeville, TN Brenda & Michael McNamara, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA Christine Frederickson, Altadena, CA Mariko Hori Tanaka, Atami-shu, Japan Guo Jide, Jinan, China Shoji Yamana, Tokyo, Japan

Sustaining Members

Steven Bloom, Sharon, MA Jo Morello, Bradenton, FL

Susan Brown, Hartford, CT David Palmer, Lincoln, MA Vivian Casper, Denton, TX Alexander Pettit, Corinth, TX Carol DeBoer-Langworthy, Providence, RI Robert Richter, Mystic, CT

Eileen Herrmann, Oakland, CA Robert Sehr, Alamo, CA Jeff Kennedy, Phoenix, AZ Diane Schinnerer, San Ramon, CA Daniel Larner, Bellingham, WA Bob Tracy, Washington, DC Andrew Lee, Cleveland, TN Chris Westgate, Claremont, CA Manuel Mora-Lourido, Canary Islands Beth Wynstra, Framingham, MA New Members Riadh Mhamdi, Tunisia Empire Strikes Press, Oceanside, NY

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 24 April 2017

Eugene O’Neill: The Constant Presence—Conferences; calls for papers, submissions Society presents panels on O‟Neill‟s tragic theatre and his vision of tragedy Society to host panel Comparative Drama Conference: April 6-8, 2017, Orlando at ALA Conference in Boston on May 27

The Eugene O‘Neill Society will host a panel at the 28th Annual American Literature Conference, scheduled for May 25-28 at Westin Copley Place in Boston. Jeff Kennedy, the Society‘s immediate past president, chairs the panel titled Pictured at the Eugene O'Neill Society's panel at the Comparative Drama Conference in ―O‘Neill‘s Tragic Theatre in Perspec- Orlando on April 7 are, from left, panelists Ryder Thornton, Wayne Narey, and Yuji tive.‖ The discussion is scheduled for Omori. At far right is panel organizer and moderator David Palmer. Saturday, May 27, from 3:40-5:00 p.m. By David Palmer ―Dissonant Protagonists: O‘Neill‘s The papers and presenters are: Nietzschean Approach to Tragedy The Comparative Drama in the Early Plays‖; Yuji Omori  ―O‘Neill and Nussbaum: Tragedy Conference, held for more than 40 (Takushoku University and the years, generally in late March or and the Fragility of Goodness‖: University of British Columbia) David Palmer, Massachusetts Mari- early April, moved from Stevenson ―O‘Neill‘s Dissipated Characters time Academy University in Baltimore to Rollins and Their Critique of Capitalism‖; College in Orlando, where it will and Wayne Narey (Arkansas State  ―O‘Neill‘s influence on 20th and remain for at least the next four University) ―Eugene O‘Neill‘s years. 21st Century American Tragedi- Allegorical Concept of Tragedy.‖ ans‖: Jeff Kennedy, Arizona State This year the conference was held The conference will be held April 5 University from April 6-8, and the Eugene to 7 in 2018, with proposals for O'Neill Society again sponsored a papers due to the conference  ―Staging the Systemic: O‘Neillian panel. Entitled "O'Neill's Vision of organizers by December 3, 2017. Tragedy as ‗Flesh and Blood Tragedy," the panel was organized An official call for O'Neill papers ―Propaganda‖‘: Joel Pfister, by society board member David will go out to society members in Wesleyan University Palmer (Massachusetts Maritime mid-September. For further Academy) and featured three information and abstracts for all For more information, click HERE. papers: Ryder Thornton the 2017 conference papers visit (University of California at Santa the Rollins website by clicking Barbara and Tulane University) HERE. Edward Albee Society calls for submissions for New Perspectives journal David A. Crespy, president of the now available.) Deadline for submission in roles and venues other than as Edward Albee Society, seeks of completed manuscripts is November author of plays produced in theaters. submissions for Volume Three of New 15, 2017. Perspectives in Edward Albee Studies, the Click HERE for the call for submissions society‘s official annual publication. The Essays could explore Albee‘s plays for or contact the editors: David Crespy theme is ―Edward Albee as Dramatic innovations in theatrical style, dramatic ([email protected]) and Lincoln and Theatrical Innovator.‖ (Volume structure, creation of great characters Konkle ([email protected] One, Edward Albee and Absurdism, is and subject matter, as well as his work Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 25 April 2017

Conferences; production of Mourning Becomes Electra, April 26—May 20 5th Conference on American Drama and Theatre: abstracts due Sept. 15  Lee Breuer, American play- Edward Albee Society wright, theater director, academic, invites participants for educator, film maker, poet, lyricist conference on migration The 5th International Conference on and founding co-artistic director of American Drama and Theatre will be Mabou Mines Theater Company. Noelia Hernando Real, president held at Université de Lorraine (Nancy,  Maude Mitchell, American ac- of the Susan Glaspell Society, is France) on June 4-6, 2018. Abstracts tress and producer. interested in supporting a closed are due by September 15, 2017. The  Dr. Annette Saddik, professor panel from The Edward Albee theme is ―Migrations in American Society for the Conference on Drama and Theater,‖ with the study of and scholar of American drama American Drama and Theater, migrations, understood in a broad and theater, City University of according to David A. Crespy, sense. Abstracts for proposed papers New York. president of the Edward Albee are due on September 15.  Dr. Sue Abbotson, British born Society. professor and scholar of American

The conference is co-sponsored by drama and theater and former The theme, as mentioned in the the American Theater and Drama So- president of the Arthur Miller So- article at left, is ―Migrations in ciety (ATDS), working in partnership ciety. American Drama and Theater." with the Spanish universities of Cádiz,

Sevilla, and Madrid Autónoma, the re- To submit either a paper, a roundtable David Crespy said, ―I am search group I.D.E.A. (―Théories et discussion, or an already organized particularly interested in hearing pratiques de l‘interdisciplinarité dans panel, please send abstracts of 300 from some of our international les études anglophones‖) and the Uni- words and a brief CV to Dr. Josefa members in Europe who would versité de Lorraine Fernandez Martin ([email protected]) by 15 September 2017. like to participate!‖ Confirmed keynote speakers include:  John Patrick Shanley, Ameri- For updated information on the con- To learn more, email David at can playwright, screenwriter, and ference (travel, accommodation, par- [email protected] or theater and film director. ticipation fees, etc.), please visit phone 573.882.0535 or  John Guare, American play- https://idea-udl.org/migrations/. 573.999.5695 (cell). wright.

Target Margin Theatre presents Mourning Becomes Electra in five-hour production

Brooklyn-based Target Margin Theatre is staging a five-hour, marathon production of Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra at Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, NYC, from April 26 - May 20. Artistic producer Moe Yousuf has provided photos from the production. For information, click HERE. To buy tickets, click HERE. To hear an interview, click HERE.

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 26 April 2017

The Eugene O’Neill Foundation: Travis Bogard Artists in Residence Program Travis Bogard Artist in Residence Program welcomes 2017 Tao House Fellows

by Wendy Cooper

The translation of a Chilean playwright‘s book of aesthetic theory, a performance on the relationship between Shake- speare and O‘Neill, and a manuscript of a book describing the artistic vision of a Cuban-American playwright are the pro- jects of three Tao House Fellows chosen for the Travis Bogard Artist in Residence Program at Tao House.

The Eugene O‘Neill Foundation announces that the Fellows, selected from ten stellar applicants, are Scott T. Cummings, professor of dramatic literature and playwriting and chair of Boston College‘s Theatre Department; Patrick Midgely, a Ph.D. student at Texas Tech University, Lubbock; and Adam Versenyi, chair of the department of dramatic art at the Uni- versity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

In the past year Versenyi has trans- Staunton, Virginia. Then, with the lated ten of Griffero‘s plays, in 2016 award of Texas Tech‘s Presidential publishing the first English-language Fellowship (the first ever presented to translation. Versenyi believes his work a student in the arts), he says, ―my life- at Tao House will expose theatre art- long relationship with Shakespeare and ists and scholars to new ways of think- the theatre has just begun, now as a ing about, and practicing, theatre, and scholar-practitioner.‖ will also be useful to anyone in the English-speaking world with an interest His 30-45 minute performance in- in Latin American theatre, politics and cludes ―selections from O‘Neill and ADAM VERSENYI culture. Shakespeare beginning with Long Day’s Journey Into Night and The Iceman Adam Versenyi will be in residence at Cometh, and in the fragmented exposi- Tao House June 13-July 4, 2017 work- tional style of Strange Interlude, gradu- ing on the first draft of a translation of ally imply deeper and less obvious con- Chilean playwright/director Ramon nections between the two play- Griffero‘s book, La dramaturgia del wrights.‖ espacio (The Dramaturgy of Space.) Selections from Hamlet, King Lear and Versenyi regards Griffero as one of other Shakespearean works are in- the most important contemporary cluded. Midgely explains, ―I want to Chilean theatre artists, but his work is explore the unique ways in which the little known in the English-speaking performance of related characters, world. Griffero was forced to flee PATRICK MIDGELY themes, motifs, words and even ges- Chile in the military coup of 1973 and tures can help us glimpse how O‘Neill on his return to Chile in 1985 founded Patrick Midgely will be at Tao House absorbed Shakespeare…as well as Teatro del Fin de Siglo (Theatre for July 5-12 to work on his project, how Shakespeare can help us better the End of the Century). which involves his skills as a per- understand O‘Neill.‖ Midgely will have former, discipline as a researcher, and a ―dress rehearsal‖ at Tao House on Griffero, now head of the theatre pro- passion for the concept of O‘Neill‘s July 9 before taking his work to the gram at the Universidad de ARCIS has, relationship with Shakespeare. O‘Neill International Conference in according to Versenyi, influenced the Ireland. theatrical discourse in Chile and be- Midgely spent five years with the yond by his concept of the poetics of American Shakespeare Center in (Continued on page 28) space.

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 27 April 2017

The Eugene O’Neill Foundation: Artists-in-Residence; A Constant Presence—Playwrights’ Theatre Tao House Fellows will work across a broad spectrum of interests

(Continued from page 27) source documents, Cummings hopes Scott T. Cummings hopes to complete to create an approximation of what the manuscript for a book, Finding In- Fornés planned for her book---a prac- spiration: Maria Irene Fornés, Playwriting, tical guide for writing students and Theatre, and Creativity, during his three aspiring playwrights and a valuable weeks at Tao House, from July 30 to contribution to American theatre and August 19. drama scholarship.

Cummings considers Fornés the most Cummings said, ―like Eugene O‘Neill, important American woman play- Fornés was a fierce experimentalist wright of the 20th Century, widely and insistent truth-teller. It will be an recognized in professional and aca- SCOTT T. CUMMINGS honor and a pleasure to complete the demic theatre communities as a major manuscript in the former home of figure because, ―In her forty-year ca- in 2013, the first to take account of such a kindred spirit.‖ reer Fornés pioneered a new way of her complete oeuvre, which included writing for the American stage, one teaching classes and workshops fo- Last year‘s Tao House Fellows lauded based on brief, fragmentary and evoca- cused on helping playwrights to gain the experience, which allowed them tive scenes, often centered on a char- access to their imaginations, to to work in the creative atmosphere in acter caught up in a transition from strengthen their creative systems. which O‘Neill wrote his masterpieces. ignorance to awareness or knowl- A full description of the program, pre- edge.‖ Cognitive impairment cut short sented in association with the National Fornés‘ plan to write The Anatomy of Park Service, is available on the Foun- Cummings published a book on Fornés Inspiration. With the aid of primary dation website,

Eugene O‟Neill Foundation marks 20 years of Playwrights‟ Theatre with a double bill of one-act plays on May 6 & 7 in Danville, CA

By Gary Schaub at 2:00 p.m. in the Old Barn at the and his Bohemian colleagues who had Eugene O‘Neill National Historic Site summered and presented newly The twentieth anniversary productions in Danville. written works on Cape Cod at the for the Playwrights‘ Theatre have been Wharf Theatre on the Provincetown scheduled by the Eugene O‘Neill Tickets for the Playwrights‘ Theatre waterfront. Foundation, Tao House. program are available beginning April 1 online at the O‘Neill Foundation‘s The double bill is produced for the For this anniversary year, artistic website or by calling 925.820.1818. Eugene O‘Neill Foundation in director Eric Fraisher Hayes has Seating in the Old Barn is limited so collaboration with Symmetry Theatre chosen two notable short plays that early reservations are suggested. Company of San Francisco, whose played a seminal role in launching mission is to create stimulating and Modern America Theatre. Both of the short plays made their challenging professional theatre that is debut in 1918 at the Provincetown ―balanced‖—i.e., the plays chosen will Eugene O‘Neill‘s Shell Shock and Rita Playhouse on Macdougal Street in always have at least as many female Creighton Smith‘s The Rescue will be New York. The Greenwich Village characters as male. seen on a single bill on Saturday, May venue was an outgrowth of the 6, at 8:00 p.m., and on Sunday, May 7, theatrical interest of Eugene O‘Neill (Continued on page 29)

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 28 April 2017

The Eugene O’Neill Foundation: A Constant Presence—On Stage, Playwrights’ Theatre, May 6-7 Short plays from 100 years ago take timely look at mental illness

(Continued from page 28) ―Our goal is to recognize that women‘s stories are as important as men‘s,‖ says Symmetry‘s artistic director Chloe Bronzan. ―We hope to bring to the public and theater community at large the need for more ‘balance on the boards.‘‖

―These two plays from early Provincetown Playhouse give us a special opportunity to present plays that reinforce Symmetry‘s mission,‖ says the O‘Neill Foundation artistic director Eric Fraisher Hayes. ―Many of us are familiar with the Provincetown Playhouse‘s most famous playwright, Pictured are Eugene O’Neill’s original title page and first script page of Shell Shock, Eugene O‘Neill, but just as important accessed via California Digital Library. To read the entire script in its original form, and less known are the works of the click HERE. Playhouse‘s women writers.‖ war. Written in early 1915, and set The Playwrights‘ Theatre series was A panel discussion on gender equality prior to the end of the war, Shell Shock initiated by the Eugene O‘Neill in theater and issues related to the focuses on the impact on mental Foundation in 1996 in collaboration plays‘ theme of mental illness will take health that the war is having on many with the National Park Service. place immediately following the two surviving soldiers. Playwrights‘ Theatre presents staged performances, says Hayes. readings of O‘Neill plays by It was written while 26-year-old professional directors in the San O‘Neill was completing his first year at Francisco Bay area, with work by Harvard University‘s playwriting playwrights who influenced O‘Neill, or course taught by George Pierce Baker. were influenced by him–including The one-act play was entered into works by new and emerging Harvard Dramatic Club‘s competition playwrights. where it received honorable mention. These productions are presented at Rita Creighton Smith‘s The Rescue was the Eugene O‘Neill National Historic also written for George Pierce Baker‘s Site in Danville, operated by the playwriting workshop at Harvard. The National Park Service. Tao House is drama, with three female characters, the location where, between 1937- concerns the remaining daughter of a 1944, Eugene O‘Neill and his wife notable New England family who is Carlotta lived, and where he wrote his PHOTO: EUGENE O’NEILL FDTN. worried she has inherited her family‘s most memorable plays, including The Shell Shock is the third of Eugene strain of insanity. She faces the issue Iceman Cometh, Long Day’s Journey into O‘Neill‘s three plays about World when she returns to her dignified, but Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. War One. Each of the three was gloomy, family home for her mother‘s Tours of Tao House are available by concerned with different realities of funeral. contacting the National Park Service at 925. 838.0249, ext. 6320. Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 29 April 2017

Eugene O’Neill Foundation: student visit; Newsletter contributors Babson College students tour Tao House, write and perform short plays On February 13, 2017 Beth Wynstra brought 22 of her Babson College (Massachusetts) stu- dents to Tao House for the day. These stu- dents are in Beth's class ―Revolutionary Stages and Stages of Revolution: Theater, Politics, and Performance in the City by the Bay,‖ which is a part of Babson's study abroad program in San Francisco. The course covers significant San Francisco/Bay-area theater art- ists, performance traditions, theater spaces, notable productions, and groundbreaking com- panies from 1849 until the early 21st cen- tury. At Tao House, students enjoyed tours of the house and grounds led by Wendy Cooper and National Park Service officer Tad Babson College students visit Tao House, escorted by NPS officer Tad Shay, far Shay. Students then wrote original short plays right; Wendy Cooper, Eugene O’Neill Foundation advisory council (not pictured); inspired by elements in O'Neill's works and and their professor, Beth Wynstra (second from right). Beth, who is secretary/ performed these plays in the barn. Beth ap- treasurer of the Eugene O’Neill Society, holds her youngest student, Ali, 2. preciated the chance to be outside in beautiful weather in February!

Meet some of the O’Neillians who contributed their talent to this issue

Samuel J. Bernstein is a retired professor Wendy Cooper is a former president of the Eugene O'Neill of English, who, dur- Foundation, Tao House and current member of the Foundation's ing his career span- advisory council and Artist in Residence and library committees. She ning nearly 55 years is also a National Park Service docent giving interpretative tours at at Northeastern Uni- Tao House. A former journalist, she served as editor of the Eugene versity, was a fre- O'Neill Society Newsletter from 2007 to 2011. Professional quent invited lec- videographers, she and her husband Tony shot and edited interviews turer in the U.S. and with many O'Neillians including Kaye Albertoni and Jane Caldwell— abroad. His focus who knew the O'Neills—and early Foundation and Society members including Travis was upon dramatic literature, particularly Bogard. Wendy is a director emeritus of Role Players Ensemble, Danville's regional on the life and work of Eugene O‘Neill. He theatre, which cosponsors the Foundation's annual Eugene O'Neill Festival, created in is also an active playwright. Two of his 2000 during Wendy's presidency. musical works were inspired by O‘Neill plays: Immortal Journey, based upon The Robert M. Dowling, 2017 Medallion recipient, is professor of English at Central Con- Fountain, was presented as an elaborate necticut State University. His biography Eugene O’Neill: A Life in Four staged reading on 42nd Street in New Acts was named a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist for biography York City; Yank, based upon The Hairy in 2015. Dowling has written and edited several other books on Ape, was performed in a full production at O‘Neill, as well as numerous articles on the playwright for such publi- the Boston Center for the Arts. In 2014, cations as The Irish Times, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, The Olympics Uber Alles was staged off- Dramatist, The Eugene O’Neill Review, and Irish America. He serves on Broadway; in 2017, The Queen’s Dilemma the editorial board of The Eugene O’Neill Review and as vice president was performed at the American Theatre of the O‘Neill Society. Nanjing University Press will be releasing a of Actors in New York City. Chinese translation of his biography Eugene O’Neill in 2018.

(Continued on page 31)

Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 30 April 2017

Meet more O’Neillians who contributed their talent to this issue (Continued from page 30) Kurt Eisen is professor of English and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Michael (M J) FitzGerald, an author at Tennessee Tech University, where he teaches world literature and interested in theater

drama. He is the author of The Inner Strength of Opposites: O'Neill's Nov- and things Irish, owns elistic Drama and the Melodramatic Imagination (1994). His writing has "Gone Fishing Books" appeared in The Cambridge Companion to Eugene O'Neill and a variety of bookshop in Lenoir, journals, edited volumes, and reference works. He is a past president NC, a furniture town and current board member of the Eugene O'Neill Society, and serves (and, now, home to on the editorial board of The Eugene O’Neill Review. Google in NC,) in the foothills of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains. A former Sheila Hickey Garvey, professor emerita of theatre, Southern director of development of North Caro- Connecticut State University (2016). Member, board of directors, lina's Central University (NCCU,) he has Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre School (2016-). A 2016 an M.A. in the College of Arts & Sciences, Emmy Award winning documentary narrated by Meryl Streep, Letter from the University of Texas at Austin, an from Italy, 1944: a new American Oratorio, featured Dr. Garvey‘s staging MBA in finance from the University of of the oratorio‘s world premiere. Acting credits include Long Wharf Houston, and a B.A. in cursu classico Theatre and Williamstown Theatre Festival among others. (English literature) from St. Peter's Univer- Publications: based on interviews with artists working in O‘Neill plays sity, where he was a Distinguished Military on and off Broadway. Recipient of the Moss Hart Award and numerous awards given by Graduate in 1968. the John F. Kennedy/American College Theatre Festival. Past president of the Eugene O'Neill Society (2001-2003). Jo Morello, newsletter editor, has Harley J. Hammerman, M.D. is a radiologist by day – the CEO of Metro Imaging in St. operated a public

Louis. He has an infatuation with the American playwright Eugene relations business in O'Neill. He collects him and he catalogues him on the international Sarasota, Florida, website eOneill.com (eoneill.com). He's a foodie who writes about since 1986 and in food with his wife Marlene on the website Two For The Table Philadelphia before (twoforthetable.com). He's an aging baby boomer in search of the that. She is also a Fountain of Youth. Harley Hammerman is Lost Tables freelance writer and (losttables.com). award-winning Jeff Kennedy is immediate past-president of the Eugene O‘Neill playwright. Her full-length play E.G.O.:

Society, and is an assistant professor at Arizona State University, The Passions of Eugene Gladstone O’Neill where he teaches courses in theatre and music in the Interdisci- was produced in Lexington, KY, as plinary Arts and Performance program. A published scholar on winner of the Kentucky Women the Provincetown Players, he created and maintains the award- Writers Conference. Now she is winning research website provincetownplayhouse.com. As a currently writing Lil & Louis, about celebrated composer and musician, he has worked as a produc- Louis Armstrong and his second wife. tion assistant for Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, and as a She founded and was producing artistic music director for Broadway performers and shows. He is currently finishing a director of Starlite Players in Sarasota. book on the history and artistic legacy of the Provincetown Players. Recent productions—short plays: Gene & Aggie (Sarasota/Tampa/NYC); William Davies King, 2017 Medallion recipient, has recently put together Long Talkback (Sarasota/Tampa/Pittsburgh, Day’s Journey Into Night: Multimedia Edition for Yale University PA); Ancient Oaks (Sarasota); and Press, which follows on his 2014 critical edition. He is currently collaborations with Jack Gilhooley: working on a critical edition of The Iceman Cometh, also for Yale. Connubial Bliss (Kent, UK/Sarasota); Co- He is a professor of Theater and Dance at the University of Dependents/(Sarasota) and full-length California and the former editor of The Eugene O’Neill Review. He Life Upon the Wicked Stage (Tampa has published books and articles concerning Eugene O‘Neill‘s Bay). www.jomorello.com. connection with his second wife, Agnes Boulton, including An- other Part of a Long Story (Michigan, 2010), and looks forward to a similar investiga- tion of O‘Neill‘s third wife, Carlotta Monterey. (Continued on page 32) Eugene O‘Neill International Society Page 31 April 2017

Meet even more O’Neillians who contributed their talent to this issue (Continued from page 31) David Palmer teaches philosophy in the Humanities Department Beth Wynstra is an at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He is on the board of the assistant professor of Eugene O‘Neill Society and is editing the anthology Visions of Trag- English at Babson edy in Modern American Drama: From O’Neill to the 21st Century, College, where she which will be published by Bloomsbury in February 2018. O‘Neill teaches courses in Society members Jackson Bryer, Jeff Kennedy, and Brenda Murphy American drama, are contributors. modernism, acting, public speaking, and Nelson O’Ceallaigh Ritschel’s fifth book, Bernard Shaw, W. T. Stead, and the New Jour- business writing. She serves as faculty di- nalism (Palgrave Macmillan) was published in February 2017. His rector for the Sorenson Center for the fourth book, Shaw, Synge Connolly, and Socialist Provocation (University Arts at Babson and regularly directs musi- Press of Florida, 2011) has been recognized for excellence by Michael cals and plays. Beth is the secretary/ D. Higgins, president of Ireland. In addition to his fields of Shaw, treasurer of the Eugene O'Neill Society. Synge, Irish drama and socialism, Nelson has also published numerous J. Chris Westgate, essays on the influence of Irish drama on O‘Neill. He is the co-chair, with Audrey McNamara, of the Tenth International Eugene O‘Neill president of the Conference. Nelson is chair of Humanities at Massachusetts Maritime. Eugene O‘Neill Soci- ety and book review Gary Schaub, former president of the Eugene O‘Neill Foundation, editor of The Eugene

Tao House, has been on its board since 2002. He was president O’Neill Review, is as- (2007-09) and vice president of development (2009-13) and helped sociate professor of secure funding for both Student Days at Tao House and the O'Neill English at California Studio Retreat. He was also Cultural Services Director for Walnut State University, Creek, CA, from 1974-2001. Gary‘s awards include Lifetime Con- Fullerton. He is the author of Urban tributions to the Local Arts Agency Field (California Arts Council, Drama: The Metropolis in Contemporary 2001); Special Arts Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts (Arts & Culture Commis- North American Plays and articles in Modern sion, Contra Costa County, 2001), Outstanding Arts Supporter (Diablo Regional Arts Drama, Theatre Journal, and Comparative Assn., 1974-2001), Contra Costa County Theatre Shellie Award for Outstanding Contri- Drama; and editor of Brecht, Broadway, and bution to the Performing Arts (1991 and 1999). United States Theatre. His book, Staging the Slum, Slumming the Stage, which examines Eugene O‟Neill Society 10th International Conference the intersection of theatergoing and slum- July 19-22  Galway, Ireland ming during the Progressive Era, has just

Medallion Recipients: Gabriel Byrne  Jessica Lange been published by Palgrave Macmillan. Steven Bloom  Robert M. Dowling  William Davies King Stay up to date with Facebook. Click for For registration, agenda and other information: click HERE. Eugene O‘Neill Society eoneill.com

The Eugene O‟Neill Society Founded 1979  eugeneoneillsociety.org

A nonprofit scholarly and professional organization devoted to the promotion and study of the life and works of Eugene O‘Neill and the drama and theatre for which his work was in large part the instigator and model.

The Eugene O‘Neill Society publishes this newsletter and the scholarly journal The Eugene O’Neill Review twice each year for its members. Please direct newsletter correspondence to secretary/treasurer Beth Wynstra at 26 Salem End Lane, Framing- ham, MA 01702 or [email protected]. © 2017 by the Eugene O‘Neill Society. All rights reserved.