Eclipse Theatre Company announces full season of Eugene O'Neill
Chicago's Eclipse Theatre Company, the only theatre company in the Midwest to focus on a single playwright each season, will feature the works of legendary American playwright Eugene O'Neill in its 2012 season, the company announced today.
Marking 20 years as one of Chicago's premiere non-equity theatre companies, Eclipse will tackle the powerful realism of one of the twentieth century's most revered writers with three fully-staged productions, readings, and public events about the playwright.
"We are thrilled to mark Eclipse Theatre Company's twentieth anniversary season with an ambitious and exciting journey through the works of one of the most important writers of the twentieth century," said Nathaniel Swift, Eclipse's Artistic Director.
The Eclipse season will include three O'Neill works that illustrate the playwright's evolution as an artist, writer and social commentator. All productions will take place at Eclipse's new 2012 home venue, the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 North Southport, Chicago, IL, 60657, after nine seasons at the Greenhouse Theatre Center.
The 2012 Eugene O'Neill Season will encompass works ranging from a relatively unknown Pulitzer Prize drama to one of the crowning achievements in O'Neill's vast canon and a masterpiece of the American stage. Slated productions include:
Beyond the Horizon. March 15 - April 22. Opening Nights are Sunday, March 18 & Tuesday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. All Sunday performances are at 2 p.m. Guest Director Louis Contey.
A rare revival of O'Neill's very first full-length 1920 Pulitzer Prize winning drama, Beyond the Horizon is the story of two brothers, one a dreamer and the other a pragmatist, who share their love for the same woman. Their tale unfolds when the woman's rejection of one brother and her marriage to another set the stage for discontent and disillusionment. Originally produced on Broadway in 1920, O'Neill's first full-length play captures the powerful, perilous emotional currents swirling below the surface of everyday life. Jeff Award winning director Louis Contey returns to Eclipse to direct one of Eugene O'Neills hidden gems.
Ah Wilderness! July 26 - September 2. Opening Nights are Sunday, July 29 & Tuesday, July 31, at 7:30 p.m. All Sunday performances are at 2 p.m. Directed by Eclipse ensemble member Steve Scott.
The O'Neill season continues with his only lighthearted and comic play, Ah Wilderness!. Set in New England in the days of America's innocence, this affectionate comedy presents a young man's coming of age story during a summer in which he experiments with poetry, politics, wicked women and alcohol and succumbs to his first romantic crush. Ensemble member and Goodman Theatre Associate Producer Steve Scott directs.
Long Day's Journey Into Night. November 1 -December 9. Opening Nights are Sunday, November 4 & Monday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. All Sunday performances are at 2 p.m. Directed by Eclipse Artistic Director Nathaniel Swift.
The O'Neill season concludes with what is arguably his finest work and an American masterpiece. Considered to be an autobiographical piece which was published and produced posthumously, Long Day's Journey Into Night centers on the Tyrone family. James Tyrone, a semiretired actor, is vain and miserly; his wife Mary feels worthless and retreats into a morphine-induced haze. Jamie, their older son, is a bitter alcoholic. James refuses to acknowledge the illness of his consumptive younger son, Edmund. As Mary sinks into hallucination and madness, father and sons confront each other in searing scenes that reveal their hidden motives and interdependence.
Swift went on to say, "Eugene O'Neill remains potently relevant for today's audiences because he ushered in a new style of theatre for American audiences; a theatre of psychological realism and poetic lyricism that forever changed the way we viewed the human condition.
"In the difficult times that engulf the American spirit today, O'Neill's work resonates now more than ever, and his artistic voice is needed now more than ever," Swift added "The entire Eclipse organization is excited to invite audiences to join us on this year-long journey, exploring three very different plays from Eugene O'Neill's vast canon. From his modest beginnings as a playwright, to a rare glimpse of his lighter side of life, and finally to the intensely personal, tragic family drama that stands as a masterpiece in American theatre. The 2012 Eugene O'Neill Season will be a rich, powerful and an illuminating theatrical experience for artists and audiences alike."
Details on the 2012 Eugene O'Neill season, including cast and crew for the productions, are still being finalized.
Eclipse Theatre Company has received wide critical acclaim, awards, and nominations for its productions since its inception in 1992, including most recently the 2009 Jeff Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor, Nathaniel Swift for Blue Surge; Outstanding Actress Laura Coover for Blue Surge; the 2007 Jeff Award for Outstanding Production, Blues for an Alabama Sky; and the 2007 Black Theatre Alliance Award for Best Actress, Taylar for Blues for an Alabama Sky.
The current Eclipse ensemble is Cecil Averett, Cheri Chenoweth, Chris Corwin, Stephen Dale, Julie Daley, Steven Fedoruk, Nora Fiffer, Anish Jethmalani, Sarah Moeller, Nina O'Keefe, J.P. Pierson, Rebecca Prescott, Steve Scott, TayLar, and Katie Vandehey. The Artistic Director is Nathaniel Swift and the Managing Director is Kevin Scott.
Eclipse Theatre Company presents the work of one playwright each season. We offer the audience an opportunity, unique in the midwest, to journey with us through the playwright's works. Join us in exploring the breadth and depth of a playwright's artistic worlds. One playwright, one season, one illuminating journey. Playwrights whose work have been featured with full seasons at Eclipse include Jean Cocteau (1998); Tennessee Williams (1999); Lillian Hellman (2000); Romulus Linney (2001); John Guare (2002); Neil Simon (2003); Keith Reddin (2004); Lanford Wilson (2005); Rebecca Gilman (2006); Pearl Cleage (2007); Arthur Miller (2010), and currently Naomi Wallace (2011)
For more information or to purchase a season subscription, visit www.eclipsetheatre.com