Eugene ONeill is not for everyone.
The story behindLong Days Journeyis essential to its appreciation.
Like James, his own father had been a successful but ultimately unfulfilled stage actor.
Credit: Joan Marcus
Vanessa Redgrave won a Tony for a 2003 revival that also starred Philip Seymour Hoffman.
None of us can help the things life has done to us, says Mary at one point.
Its nice to have an authentic Irishman playing James, but Gabriel Byrnes patriarch feels subdued.
Hes hardly a pushover, but hes also much less imposing than previous portrayals.
Is it just a natural effect of the deepening stupor of the days drinking?
Or do the actors admire ONeills words and feel honored to be saying them, but dont necessarilybelievein them?
ONeill wroteLong Days Journey into Nightaround 1941, but this might be the first major Broadway production that feels old.C+
