A Moon for the Misbegotten at the Majestic

Eugene O’Neill’s Emotional ‘A Moon for the Misbegotten’ Strikes Chords

Eugene O’Neill’s ‘A Moon for the Misbegotten,’ now playing at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield, takes us back to 1923, when a family drama ensues in a Connecticut farmhouse.

We meet the residents of this rural run-down house, (another stellar build by Scenic Designer Greg Trochlil and his team) first, the father Phil Hogan (John Thomas Waite) with his full-on Irish brogue, and Josie, his voluptuous daughter (Sue Dziura) who live together and face an upcoming challenge. The misbegotten are the unfortunate, the poor whose situation has caused family upheaval.

The son, Mike Hogan (Caleb Chew) is leaving because their part of rural America offers nothing to the young.  The house is for sale and might be sold right out from under them. Josie encourages her brother to seek greener pastures. For now, she is staying right here to fight for the house and for her landlord, James Tyrone Jr., the man who she loves…despite the many headwinds between them.

When Eugene O’Neill wrote this in 1941, (as the sequel to ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’) it was an era where people treated alcohol much differently than they do today. It’s noticeable because Phil appears pretty drunk throughout much of the play, as does James (Jay Sefton). As the play goes on you hear Josie constantly suggest that ‘having another drink’ is the solution to getting closer, not feeling bad, or any other issue. Just pop the cork, man, have a swig. Again and again, one actor accuses another of trying to get them drunk.

A few members of the audience next to us left at intermission, the play ran 2 hours 20 minutes and sometimes in the first act, it lagged. You had to listen carefully to understand Phil’s well-honed brogue and the intensity of the frustrating relationship between Josie and James.

But Jay Sefton (who was so memorable on this stage in his solo performance of ‘Unreconciled’ last year) makes an interesting change throughout this long show, he wrestles so much emotion out of the character as he did in his solo outing. You can almost experience his self-loathing yourself, each time he takes another drink or sees his hand shaking with tremors.

 

 

 

James shares horrible tales of neglect and pain from his alcoholism, his mother dies and he’s too drunk to attend the funeral, she never sees his sobriety that lasted a few years, he’s a degenerate through and through. Josie tries to do what Mom never did, console and forgive him.

I think the most impressive character in the play is Josie, she keeps our attention on her throughout with her passion for James, despite his many challenges. She may be poor, and who knows who she’s slept with (a frequent topic), but she’s a good person.

As the moonlight bathes the couple in the second act, and Phil’s homemade booze comes out, she wrestles with saying whatever she has to say to win his heart. But he can’t even get to their date on time, arriving hours late and Josie shrugs. She’s not giving up on this guy. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Josie says sympathetically. “My own,” answers James. “But you are healthy and beautiful and clean and I like your breasts,” is how the seduction goes.  But instead of seduction, we see empathy, as he lays his head on her chest and she stops begging him for a kiss.

Director James Warwick chose wisely to change O’Neill’s original production from a four-act play to two acts with intermission. The tone of the play changed remarkably with the moonlight scenes between Josie and James both showing an impressive range of sharp emotions. O’Neill’s script is dense and hard to follow at times.

Critic J. Peter Bergman wrote in his review of this show, “If you are intelligent and patient and can appreciate the sensibility of O’Neill’s special, verbose language, it is a beautiful play well worth your time and attention.”

One more comment about the set: The small touches like the real granite steps that actors sit on and the rocks set in front add so much realism to the house, giving the play the right feel of the home of some misbegotten souls.

A Moon for the Misbegotten’ at the Majestic Theater, Elm St. West Springfield through December 1. Tickets are $35-$38 and can be purchased at the box office or by calling (413) 747-7797.