Like many artists, American playwright Eugene O’Neill found
his most powerful muses in his own life. Three of his most famous works — “The
Iceman Cometh,” “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” and “A Moon for the
Misbegotten” — are autobiographical and use characters based on members of his
immediate family.
Geva Theatre Center is currently
collaborating with Theatre Royal in Waterford, Ireland, to produce “A Moon for
the Misbegotten,” directed by Theatre Royal Artistic Director Ben Barnes. With
an international cast and a previous run in Ireland already finished, the show
will run in Rochester through most of April.
The plot focuses on the Hogan family, poor tenants on a
Connecticut estate owned by the wealthy Tyrone family. Phil Hogan and his grown
daughter, Josie, are the only family members remaining on the rundown little
farm, and they rely on their wits and wiles to survive. When the duo finds out
the landlord’s friendly son, James Tyrone Jr., is about to come into his
inheritance and may sell the farm to a neighboring millionaire, they concoct
their wildest scheme yet. (For those who are familiar with O’Neill’s “Long
Day’s Journey into Night,” this is the sequel.)
Geva’s set is a farmhouse facade —
assumedly ramshackle, but really resembling a modern minimalist design with
clean lines and pale wood. A porch runs the length of the facade, and Scenic Designer
Joe Vanek has littered the ground with wooden crates,
creaky tin pails, and rusty farm tools. The stage itself has been covered with
dusty boards to recreate a stony, dry yard. Vanek also
designs 1920’s-era costumes, from tailored suits for Tyrone to boxy cotton
dresses for Josie. It’s an incredibly effective aesthetic when coupled with
Lindsay Jones’s sound and music design, which includes the chirping of birds
(later on in the show, crickets) and wistful Irish music between scenes.
In “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” the use of light is
particularly important. Not only does the audience witness a transformation
from dusk to dawn, but the lighting also acts as a guide to the narrative. Lighting
designer Ann G. Wrightson is masterful in her
choices, aligning her cues with the emotions of the play. A larger-than-life
moon begins to glow behind the house as the sun sets during the show.
“A Moon for the Misbegotten” has a cast of only five
characters. Augustus Cuddy (Mike Hogan) — whose last name may ring a bell for
those familiar with Geva’s leadership — is in the
show very briefly, but his character’s pious, earnest attempts to reform his
sister Josie before he leaves home pave the way for much of the show’s Irish
banter. Michael Quinlan (T. Stedman Harder), likewise, only appears in the show
briefly, but his exchange with Mark Lambert (Phil Hogan) is easily the funniest
scene in the play, and Quinlan’s deadbeat facial expressions and physical
reactions are key to the humor. Quinlan appears as part of the international
cast, as does Lambert, who plays the alcoholic patriarch in “Moon.” Lambert is
well known on stages across Ireland, and it’s obvious why: He is a force on the
stage. He seems to be typecast to play the mischievous, conniving Phil Hogan,
with his bawdy jokes and native Irish accent. There’s a strong dynamic between
the other actors and Lambert, which speaks to his ability to shine the
spotlight on another player (which often results in stealing it back for
himself; a masterful talent).
Donald Sage Mackay plays James Tyrone Jr. — a character
O’Neill based upon his older brother, who was also an alcoholic. Mackay has all
the suave and street smarts of a Broadway actor (which the character has been),
using 20’s slang with the charm of Jay Gatsby. His interactions with Kate
Forbes (Josie Hogan) in act two are moving in their intensity.
As for Forbes, she deserves an entire review of her own. She
is a star in this role, and seems born to play the rough-and-tumble, brave
Irishwoman. Forbes melds the rusty exterior of Josie Hogan and turns it inside
out — slowly — through the duration of the play, until audiences see the pure
interior of the character’s nature. (If there’s one criticism for Forbes, it is
simply that her lilting Irish accent disappeared a few times throughout the
show.)
This play is a shining example of author Chuck Palahniuk’s
theory that “A good story should make you laugh, and a moment later break your
heart.” “A Moon for the Misbegotten” is an all-consuming, whirlwind
two-and-a-half hours. True to O’Neill’s style, the story doesn’t have a clear
resolution; it leaves the audience wanting more. Between O’Neill’s gripping
words and Barnes’s inspired direction, Geva audiences
will leave the theater reflecting on past loves, losses, and redemption.
This article appears in Apr 6-12, 2016.
Having recently attended this play, I beg to differ about the description of this play as being an “all-consuming, whirlwind two-and-a-half hours.” This production set a new standard for boredom and that is hinted at in this review which gives an inordinate amount of attention to the lighting for the play. If the lighting of a play generates that much notoriety, it’s a pretty good sign the the production is a turkey. The actors in the production did the best they could with a script that should have never seen the light of day. Let’s hope GEVA does a better job picking material for next season; this play should have never made the cut.