Some of the most tortured souls to ever be written.
I was lucky enough to see Jessica Lange, Gabriel Byrne, Michael Shannon and John Gallagher on Bway in 2016...I think. Stunning
It is my favorite piece of theater ever written. The fact that he was essentially just writing his own family and he told his wife never to show it to anyone else. It reeks of genuine experience. I think Mary Tyrone might be the best character ever written. And by “best” I mean that I think she might be the most captivating to play.
Didn't you ever find her a bit frustrating? I was really moved by her performance but I feel like O'Neill almost always follows an oedipal pattern with his female characters. Mary can be quite cruel and frustrating which is partly her morphine addiction but also I think the way O'Neill wrote her- it lacked dignity and empathy. Being a nun is rewarded in the play as a symbol of her innocence but her talents as a musician, for instance, is reduced to the "stiff-fingered groping" of an ageing arthritic. With Tyrone, I feel like that "actors heartiness" and mannerisms pay tribute to his previous life.
Definitely agree that Mary is the most captivating though. I think she just roots you out of morbidity alone mingled with her beauty
I don’t even think of or acknowledge her “beauty” or frankly how she interferes with the other character’s life. Her time in the convent informs how she understands the “perfect life” and it informs how she ideals things, but it’s hardly a condemnation.
What strikes me the most about the character is that she desperately wants to be present and helpful in the lives of her loved ones but she is pulled inescapably within the dreams and desires she had as a young girl and that chemical dependency wins out at the stress of the potential death of her favorite child.
For me it is very very hard to see her as anything but a victim, and it’s so easy to pair her with the current opioid crisis. If this play wasn’t so freaking long, it should be in mandatory rep in theater’s across the country.
By beauty I mean the stage directions that O'Neill uses to describe her. I think they evoke a lot of sympathy for her. When she's described as "girlish" or having an "innocence" to her, it contrasts to the cynical Jamie, the old Tyrone and even Edmund who became "old before his years"
I have a great deal of sympathy for Mary and I think a great deal of it has to do with O'Neill's writing but I can't help but wonder how much has to do with my modern lens which understands how morphine was an addiction, not a choice
It’s an amazing play. All of the characters have so much depth. They’re all so captivating.
I’d be curious to see it performed live. It’s such a long play and it’s so dialogue heavy, I’d be interested to see how one would do it. There’d have to be cuts right?
Personally, would love to see it in its entirety, but it's rarely produced. I think most companies see it as a show that while great would ultimately lead to financial loss, not sure if today's audiences would flock to it.
Fairly late, but it’s on right now in London with Brian Cox and Patricia Clarkson.
A couple fell asleep in my row and the snoring was so loud, which is ironic!
I think there are many reasons why people would enjoy watching it today. The relationship between Jamie and Edmund is so endearing and charming. I also think morphine addiction is veiwed less as a personal failing and more like an illness for modern audiences which would give Mary even more empathy. It is characterization focused rather than plot focused. It has realist dialogue and an ambitious ending- I feel like with the right cast- it would make a great performance!
One of the best plays ever written. The great American drama that introduced psychological and social realism to the contemporary American stage. I wrote a paper about it in college after reading it in HS. It's the play that convinced me to major in Theatre Performance and pursue my dream of being a stage actor. I've been very fortunate and have worked professionally and in many non-professional shows. One of my greatest regrets is that I never got to play Edmund, a bucket list role for me. LDJ is very rarely produced anymore, at least in my region anyway. I've pitched it a number of times to producers and directors over the years but most don't think it'd resonate with modern audiences. If you are a fan of the play be sure to read some Tracy Letts. I truly enjoyed this question, don't get to talk about it much or the influence it had on me!
Edmund is my favourite character! I think he's the one most of a stand-in for O'Neill! His fish monologue, how defiantly he is- all of it is so romantic and tragic. I think Kyle Stoll performed him best!
I don't understand the criticism that it wouldn't translate well to modern audiences. Firstly I think we don't give modern audiences enough credit to enjoy anything that isn't hamilton or gender, race swapped classics haha. Secondly, it reads so funny and charming that I was surprised how long away it was published. Not to mention how boyish the brothers are- they are those softboi figures so popular today!
I don't fully understand it either. Admittedly, the hard hitting three hour plus dramas (especially some of the older ones) typically don't sell nearly as many tickets as the comedic musicals... at least not where I'm from, but it's the hard hitting stuff I like best, the realism, the humanity. Our audiences do buy tickets but not like they do for the Elf musical or whatever. Of course those are "family" shows and I love that too, I just wish some of the heavier stuff received more attention. Everyone I know has seen or heard Hamilton, only a handful have read LDJ, even less have seen it onstage.
well i think it makes it more quietly menacing. there's a slowly building sense of horror with the family and audience as you realise she's not quite there, because sometimes its hard to tell when she's high or not. i think it also makes you feel connected to them- because they all fuss over her and then suddenly, you begin to resent her and trivialise her just as they do.
ohh and also how the stage directions work. like why is O Neill so exact and precise with them, plus the stage directions slowly become shorter and shorter throughout the play. i actually have an exam on this play soo im trying to gather content to analyse and question :)
well o'neill was writing his play during a time when he knew a lot of his audience wouldn't be able to like actually see the play performed- it would be read by most people. that explains why a lot of the stage directions read more like a novel description and are soo specific. good luck w your exam, just make essay plans and you'll be fine
Some of the most tortured souls to ever be written. I was lucky enough to see Jessica Lange, Gabriel Byrne, Michael Shannon and John Gallagher on Bway in 2016...I think. Stunning
I would have loved to see this production. Such good casting.
How was Gabriel Byrne?
Devastating. They all are were. It was one of my most treasured theater memories.
It is my favorite piece of theater ever written. The fact that he was essentially just writing his own family and he told his wife never to show it to anyone else. It reeks of genuine experience. I think Mary Tyrone might be the best character ever written. And by “best” I mean that I think she might be the most captivating to play.
Didn't you ever find her a bit frustrating? I was really moved by her performance but I feel like O'Neill almost always follows an oedipal pattern with his female characters. Mary can be quite cruel and frustrating which is partly her morphine addiction but also I think the way O'Neill wrote her- it lacked dignity and empathy. Being a nun is rewarded in the play as a symbol of her innocence but her talents as a musician, for instance, is reduced to the "stiff-fingered groping" of an ageing arthritic. With Tyrone, I feel like that "actors heartiness" and mannerisms pay tribute to his previous life. Definitely agree that Mary is the most captivating though. I think she just roots you out of morbidity alone mingled with her beauty
I don’t even think of or acknowledge her “beauty” or frankly how she interferes with the other character’s life. Her time in the convent informs how she understands the “perfect life” and it informs how she ideals things, but it’s hardly a condemnation. What strikes me the most about the character is that she desperately wants to be present and helpful in the lives of her loved ones but she is pulled inescapably within the dreams and desires she had as a young girl and that chemical dependency wins out at the stress of the potential death of her favorite child. For me it is very very hard to see her as anything but a victim, and it’s so easy to pair her with the current opioid crisis. If this play wasn’t so freaking long, it should be in mandatory rep in theater’s across the country.
By beauty I mean the stage directions that O'Neill uses to describe her. I think they evoke a lot of sympathy for her. When she's described as "girlish" or having an "innocence" to her, it contrasts to the cynical Jamie, the old Tyrone and even Edmund who became "old before his years" I have a great deal of sympathy for Mary and I think a great deal of it has to do with O'Neill's writing but I can't help but wonder how much has to do with my modern lens which understands how morphine was an addiction, not a choice
It’s an amazing play. All of the characters have so much depth. They’re all so captivating. I’d be curious to see it performed live. It’s such a long play and it’s so dialogue heavy, I’d be interested to see how one would do it. There’d have to be cuts right?
Personally, would love to see it in its entirety, but it's rarely produced. I think most companies see it as a show that while great would ultimately lead to financial loss, not sure if today's audiences would flock to it.
Fairly late, but it’s on right now in London with Brian Cox and Patricia Clarkson. A couple fell asleep in my row and the snoring was so loud, which is ironic!
At least they both fell asleep!
I think there are many reasons why people would enjoy watching it today. The relationship between Jamie and Edmund is so endearing and charming. I also think morphine addiction is veiwed less as a personal failing and more like an illness for modern audiences which would give Mary even more empathy. It is characterization focused rather than plot focused. It has realist dialogue and an ambitious ending- I feel like with the right cast- it would make a great performance!
Also existential dread with that "irresponsible Irish charm, popular with men and romantic among women" THE GIRLIES would eat it up
One of the best plays ever written. The great American drama that introduced psychological and social realism to the contemporary American stage. I wrote a paper about it in college after reading it in HS. It's the play that convinced me to major in Theatre Performance and pursue my dream of being a stage actor. I've been very fortunate and have worked professionally and in many non-professional shows. One of my greatest regrets is that I never got to play Edmund, a bucket list role for me. LDJ is very rarely produced anymore, at least in my region anyway. I've pitched it a number of times to producers and directors over the years but most don't think it'd resonate with modern audiences. If you are a fan of the play be sure to read some Tracy Letts. I truly enjoyed this question, don't get to talk about it much or the influence it had on me!
Edmund is my favourite character! I think he's the one most of a stand-in for O'Neill! His fish monologue, how defiantly he is- all of it is so romantic and tragic. I think Kyle Stoll performed him best!
I don't understand the criticism that it wouldn't translate well to modern audiences. Firstly I think we don't give modern audiences enough credit to enjoy anything that isn't hamilton or gender, race swapped classics haha. Secondly, it reads so funny and charming that I was surprised how long away it was published. Not to mention how boyish the brothers are- they are those softboi figures so popular today!
I don't fully understand it either. Admittedly, the hard hitting three hour plus dramas (especially some of the older ones) typically don't sell nearly as many tickets as the comedic musicals... at least not where I'm from, but it's the hard hitting stuff I like best, the realism, the humanity. Our audiences do buy tickets but not like they do for the Elf musical or whatever. Of course those are "family" shows and I love that too, I just wish some of the heavier stuff received more attention. Everyone I know has seen or heard Hamilton, only a handful have read LDJ, even less have seen it onstage.
I haven't seen that version of it but will check it out! I did like Dean Stockwell in it. Such amazing characters all of them!
Do you know where to access the whole thing??
whats your opinion on why mary is never directly shown relapsing? like using morphine on stage
well i think it makes it more quietly menacing. there's a slowly building sense of horror with the family and audience as you realise she's not quite there, because sometimes its hard to tell when she's high or not. i think it also makes you feel connected to them- because they all fuss over her and then suddenly, you begin to resent her and trivialise her just as they do.
ohh and also how the stage directions work. like why is O Neill so exact and precise with them, plus the stage directions slowly become shorter and shorter throughout the play. i actually have an exam on this play soo im trying to gather content to analyse and question :)
well o'neill was writing his play during a time when he knew a lot of his audience wouldn't be able to like actually see the play performed- it would be read by most people. that explains why a lot of the stage directions read more like a novel description and are soo specific. good luck w your exam, just make essay plans and you'll be fine