Long Day's Journey Into Night

Written by Eugene O'Neill

Directed by Fred Pletcher

In the Lowell House JCR this weekend

LEGEND has it that Eugene O'Neill's wife, Carlotta, was told never to disturb her husband at work and to leave his meals on a tray outside the door. Once, seeing three days' worth of food still sitting untouched, she anxiously opened the door to find Gene lying prostrate on the floor, weeping. He had just finished writing Long Day's Journey Into Night, the work in which he purged the ghost of his own family memories. The Lowell House production of O'Neill's masterpiece is a faithful and worthwhile rendering of that exquisite agony.

The Tyrones seem like an average middle class family of 1912 as they sit around the table gossiping about the neighbors. But in the course of four acts, and almost as many hours, they disintegrate into four tragic shells, forced to confront the painful truths of their wasted lives.

For James Tyrone (Eric Oleson), the desire for quick money has supplanted the love of his family and his theatrical integrity. For Mary Tyrone (Susan Schwartz), a life filled with dreams and musical potential has ended in loneliness and regret. James Jr. (Daniel Zelman) is unable to hold down a job, and, though rebellious, seems destined to follow in his father's alcoholic footsteps. Only Edmund (Pier Carlo Talenti), the aspiring writer, might escape the family misery, and he could well be dying.

It is refreshing to watch a play which has value as literature, which leaves the audience marvelling at O'Neill's ability to craft this tragedy. Each time the foghorn sounds ominously through the mist, and whenever Mrs. Tyrone wanders ghost-like through the house searching in vain for her glasses, we are reminded of the truths which must inevitably be revealed.

Alcohol and drugs are the catalysts which release the passions just beneath the surface of the Tyrones' happy facade. In their attempts to anaesthetize themselves against pain, the Tyrones ultimately vocalize truth, as the safe routine of daily life is stripped bare by the solitude of night. Long Day's Journey Into Night also challenges the uniquely American emphasis on ambition and moneymaking as the driving forces of life, asking the question, At what price is the American dream achieved?

Literary merit, however, is not the only reason to see this play. The Lowell House production sustains this long and difficult tragedy with surprising effectiveness. Thanks to the direction of Fred Pletcher, variations in lighting, vocal volume and pacing give much needed energy to what could easily be four monotonous hours.

The quality of the performances varies. As the parents, Oleson and Schwartz manage to convey the pathos of their characters, but not their age. As the maid, Ellen Bledsoe tries to add a note of humor to the tragedy, but her performance is too much of a caricature for the realistic tone of the piece. As the Tyrone brothers, Zelman and Talenti give excellent, though vastly different performances. Together, they portray the wide range of emotions between the protective yet resentful James and the more accepting and hopeful Edmund. Talenti gives an especially understated interpretation well adapted to the small stage area.

Though not a cheerful experience, Long Day's Journey Into Night is a moving and intense drama, well worth seeing. The ensemble has given life to what O'Neill called a "play of old sorrow, written in tears and blood."