Goodman Theatre

A GLOBAL EXPLORATION: Eugene O'Neill in the 21st Century
Curated by Robert Falls
January – March 2009

Artistic Director Robert Falls' history with Eugene O'Neill has spanned four landmark productions: The Iceman Cometh (1990), A Touch of the Poet (1996), Long Day's Journey Into Night (2002) and Hughie (2004). For Goodman Theatre's 2009 exploration of Eugene O'Neill, Falls views the 20th century "Father of the American drama" through a 21st century international lens: a handful of the world's leading theater companies bring to Chicago their highly contemporary, inventive interpretations of O'Neill's dramas to plumb the depths of this important playwright.

The Emperor Jones Homens ao Mar (Sea Plays) Desire Under the Elms

The Hairy Ape Rouw Siert Electra      (Mourning Becomes Electra) Strange Interlude

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For more than 30 years, the New York-based Wooster Group has thrilled audiences throughout the world with their radical multimedia productions. Don't miss this rare chance to see this legendary company in Chicago, in a production of O'Neill's rarely produced masterpiece that has received critical acclaim throughout the United States and Europe since its premiere in 1993. Directed by Elizabeth LeCompte, this provocative, 60-minute interpretation of O'Neill's story of a delusional self-appointed emperor of a West Indian island features Kate Valk in a bold performance of the title role which captures, according to the New York Times "an actress fashioning, with superb precision, a simulacrum of a stereotype...with a poignant sense of entrapped humanity...We see Brutus Jones himself as an actor helplessly playing a role written by the savage errors of American history...Ms. Valk performs with a fearlessness that commands something akin to awe."

Running time for The Emperor Jones is approximately 60 minutes.

To read reviews about this provocative production, click here.

Robert Falls on Companhia Triptal

Companhia Triptal's productions of O'Neill's "Sea Plays" were originally performed in a warehouse in Brazil. This winter, the company will convert the Owen into an abstracted stage for these three extraordinary plays; Cardiff allows the audience to follow the actors throughout the theater space. Based on O'Neill's experiences in the merchant marines and his lifelong obsession with the sea, the "Sea Plays" are booming, exultant explorations of the sailor's harrowing life at sea.

Running times for Zona de Guerra (In the Zone) and Longa Viagem de Volta pra Casa (The Long Voyage Home) are approximately 60 minutes, Cardiff (Bound East for Cardiff) is approximately 80 minutes.

Robert Falls on Desire Under the Elms

The collaboration between Goodman Artistic Director Robert Falls and Tony Award-winning star Brian Dennehy has resulted in nationally and internationally acclaimed productions. This winter, they will team up again to bring O'Neill's celebrated masterpiece Desire Under the Elms to the Albert stage. When Ephraim Cabot returns to his remote New England farm with his third wife—the alluring young Abbie—his three grown sons launch into a bitter fight for their inheritance. The centerpiece of the Goodman's O'Neill exploration, Desire Under the Elms has been praised for its "poetry and terrible beauty" (The New York Times).

Robert Falls on The Hypocrites and The Neo-Futurists

In a premiere commissioned by the Goodman, the Chicago-based company The Hypocrites will transform the Owen into an ocean liner for their mesmerizing production of The Hairy Ape. The actors will perform from the floor and balconies, while the audience will be seated onstage to watch this astonishing and unpredictable story unfold. When Yank, a laborer on an ocean liner, is rejected by the bourgeois of Fifth Avenue as well as his fellow working men, he decides he would rather find solace in the crushing embrace of a gorilla than live alone.

Running time for The Hairy Ape is approximately 90 minutes.

Robert Falls on Toneelgroep

Called "refreshingly daring" by the New York Times, artistic director Ivo van Hove is renowned throughout the theater world for his groundbreaking productions. Toneelgroep makes their Chicago debut with this sexy, contemporary play based on Aeschylus' Oresteian trilogy. Desperate to escape her unhappy marriage, Christine Mannon takes a lover and murders her husband, only to become the target of her children's quest to avenge their father's death. Using a unique fusion of video, television and live performance, Toneelgroep puts a new spin on one of O'Neill's most famous plays. Radiating an electrifying intensity, this production is an "intelligent and seizing experience" (Provincial Dagbladen) that should not be missed.

Production contains nudity.

Running time for Rouw Siert Electra (Mourning Becomes Electra) is approximately 3 hours and 10 minutes.

To read reviews about this innovative production, click here.

Robert Falls on The Hypocrites and The Neo-Futurists

This is the opportunity of a lifetime to see the Chicago-based Neo-Futurists premiere O'Neill's rarely performed, unusual masterpiece at the Goodman. Renowned for including the audience in their award-winning productions, the Neo-Futurists use video projection, voiceovers and other multimedia elements to experiment with different levels of reality on stage. With a running time of approximately five hours, plus a dinner-break intermission, Strange Interlude follows the complex story of Nina Leeds and her three lovers over the course of 25 strange and extraordinary years.

Running time for Strange Interlude is approximately 5 hours, 30 minutes with a dinner-break intermission.

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The O’Neill Explorer Pass: Get tickets to all 7 Owen shows and save!
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Luxury Ticket Package for Desire Under the Elms
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