Long Day’s Journey

This afternoon I saw the Eugene O’Neill play, Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the OSF’s Thomas Theatre. It is considered to be one of the great pieces of American theater of the 20th century, along with A Street Car Named Desire, which I saw here two years ago (and who I also saw yesterday starring as Benedick). Interestingly the actor who starred in Streetcar was also in this one. This was a powerful, moving play, with four primary actors carrying the drama for nearly 4 hours. The play basically starts at the beginning of one day, and runs through the late night of the same day. The set was fixed, being primarily the parlor of a house, and in the intimacy of the Thomas Theatre, it felt like you were sitting right in that room with them. The story is of a dysfunctional family who is dealing with disappointment, alcoholism, and morphine addiction. Not particularly pleasant, but powerfully acted and presented. This was a wonderful production, and I’m glad I saw it.