"A Moon for the Misbegotten" - by Eugene O'Neill - Majestic Theater (West Springfield, MA.) - REVIEW

(Cover Photo: Jay Sefton as “James Tyrone, Jr.” sits with Sue Dziura as “Josie Hogan” in a scene from "A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" by Eugene O'Neill, now playing at the Majestic Theater in West SpringfieldMAthrough December 1, 2024. Photo Credit Kait Rankins)

By Kevin T. Baldwin

METRMAG Reviewer

# 774-242-6724

Everything is far away and doesn't matter–except the moon and its dreams, and I'm part of the dreams–and you are, too.

                                                                       - ("Jim") / Eugene O'Neill

The Majestic Theater 

Presents Eugene O'Neill's 

"A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN"

Written by Eugene O'Neill 

Directed by James Warwick

Producing Director Danny Eaton

Cast Includes: Sue Dziura as “Josie Hogan,” John Thomas Waite as “Phil Hogan,” Jay Sefton as “James Tyrone, Jr.,” Caleb Chew as “Mike Hogan,” Tom Dahl as “T. Stedman Harder.” Understudies: Tom Dahl, Myka Plunkett and Max Weinberg.

Additional Creative Team:

Associate Producing Director - Sue Dziura; Production Stage Manager - Stephen Petit; Associate Production Manager - Aurora Ferraro; Stage Manager - Chelsie Nectow; Scenic Designer - Greg Trochlil; Lighting Designer - James MacNamara; Costume Design - Dawn McKay; Technical Director - Alan Schneider.

Performances:

October 24, 2024 through December 1, 2024

(Contact Box Office for Exact Times) 

MAJESTIC THEATER, 131 Elm Street, West Springfield, MA. 01089

TICKETS:

For tickets and more information, contact the Majestic Theater box office by phone at # 413-747-7797 or visit www.majestictheater.com    

BUY TICKETS

COVID 19 PROTOCOLS

Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.

The Majestic Theater in West Springfield offers us an intoxicating and captivating staging of Eugene O’Neill’s drama, "A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" which should not only be seen but studied if only for O’Neill’s enduring literary brilliance. 

Written as a play in four acts (performed here split as four scenes within two acts), "A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" is a sequel to O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” rarely experienced in plays and innovatively rendered by O’Neill.   

That rarest of playwrights, the enduring strength of "MOON" is in the richness of O’Neill’s characters. 

As written, a single sentence uttered by one of O’Neill’s characters might say more than three or four pages of dialogue and content from lesser playwrights. 

Just to be clear, though, the characters we meet in "MOON" are those you wouldn't want to spend more than 15 minutes with: 

Two of characters are literally on stage for about that amount of time, while another two are on stage longer but are "functionally sober" for even less than that amount of time.

O’Neill began writing the play in 1941 and, after an extended break, completed it in 1943

"A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" would be his final work, as his failing health made it physically impossible for him to write. 

"MOON" shows us an older version of the “Long Day’s Journey” character of “Jamie Tyrone” as an adult, now known as “Jim” (Jay Sefton). 

However, the story soon branches out and we find ourselves soon fascinated by all the other characters we see in "MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN."

Directed by James Warwick, the fabulous Majestic Theater production features a wonderfully detailed single set complete with a FUNCTIONING antique water pump.  

(Photo: Jay Sefton as “Jim” sits with Sue Dziura as “Josie” in a scene from "A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" by Eugene O'Neill, now playing at the Majestic Theater in West SpringfieldMAthrough December 1, 2024Photo Credit Kait Rankins)

"MOON" made its debut in 1947 in Ohio

The play would ultimately make its premiere on Broadway ten years later in 1957 and became so iconic that it has since had four Broadway revivals plus a West End engagement. 

The original 1957 Broadway production ran for 68 performances and actress Wendy Hiller would go on to be nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play

A 1973 critically hailed revival in Illinois became known as the “definitive” production of the show ultimately transferring to Broadway and running for 313 performances.   

Colleen Dewhurst Jason Robards, and Ed Flanders were all nominated for Tony Awards with Dewhurst and Flanders winning. 

(*Editor’s Note: For those who are curious, Robards, along with fellow actor nominees Zero Mostel, George C. Scott and Nicol Williamson, would lose to Michael Moriarty for his performance in “Find Your Way Home.” 

The cast would reunite for an ABC broadcast of the show in 1975, garnering five Emmy Award nominations with Ed Flanders winning for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special

Continuing as he had done so for “Journey,” the “Jim” character is based on O’Neill’s older brother, Jamie O’Neill

As the Majestic Theater staging of the play begins, we find ourselves in a rundown Connecticut home. 

It is autumn 1923 and we encounter Josie Hogan (Sue Dziura), an oppressive but industrious Irish woman. 

In a tormented, gut-wrenching portrayal, Dziura is utterly compelling as the stern Josie, who has an acerbic manner exacerbated by the antics of her own family and her own dour local “reputation.” 

Josie is also a woman with a softer side and, as the story progresses. it is apparent that the true central character for "MOON" is really Josie, far more so than prequel "Journey's" Jim.

Mike (Caleb Chew), the last of Josie's siblings to leave the farm, is preparing to make his own exit, mostly to escape his and Josie’s scheming boozer of a father, tenant farmer Phil (John Thomas Waite).

An interesting affectation of the script is how many times people in the script seem to say goodbye or are trying to exit the scene but instead they continue to linger.

As Phil, Waite is ebullient as the mischievous and manipulative louse, a character that also leans into a very negative Irish stereotype. 

However, Waite makes it work, yielding some of the show's few and far between moments of comic relief.

(Photo: John Thomas Waite as “Phil Hogan” with Sue Dziura as “Josie” in a scene from "A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" by Eugene O'Neill, now playing at the Majestic Theater in West SpringfieldMAthrough December 1, 2024Photo Credit Kait Rankins)

Jim (Sefton) is the Hogans’ landlord and Phil’s drinking companion. 

Sefton is excellent, rendering Jim as a cynical alcoholic tormented by the death of his mother. Jim's drinking is beginning to take an ultimate toll on his body - and we watch as both his body and spirit decline rapidly.

The only solace Jim can seem to find is in his warm affection for Josie, but even that is about to come to a critical crossroads thanks, in no small part, to her father's conniving shenanigans.

As a joke offered during one of their drunken bouts, Jim threatens to evict Hogan and sell his property to reviled neighbor, T. Steadman Harder (Tom Dahl). 

Hogan creates a scheme in which Josie will get Jim drunk, seduce him, and blackmail him. 

Chew and Dahl give fine performances and make the most of their respective moments on stage, but are at a disadvantage as they each are literally only on stage less than 15 minutes within the first act and then never heard from again, leaving little room for development.

(Photo: Sue Dziura as “Josie” sits with Caleb Chew as “Mike Hogan” in a scene from "A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" by Eugene O'Neill, now playing at the Majestic Theater in West SpringfieldMAthrough December 1, 2024Photo Credit Kait Rankins)

"A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" may not have been expected to become an essay on alcoholism, nor was it probably O’Neill’s intention to make alcoholism itself be a centralized theme of his play. 

However, it has so become. 

Because, to find a more personalized exemplification of the disease would be difficult, especially with the character of Jim, whose addiction is physically and mentally tearing him to pieces and ultimately will impact his relationships...and his life.

Josie is not an alcoholic but she does have an "addiction" of her own - Jim, and it is one compulsion she cannot easily shake. 

While she knows a relationship with Jim may not be possible, she pursues one anyway, albeit as part of Phil's ludicrous scheme.

The show's middle acts center mostly on Jim and Josie, and it is in these occasionally disturbing moments where we can feel the bitter disappointment their lives have wrought.

Even though our own lives might be quite unlike the ones depicted here, whether we empathize or sympathize, ultimately we recognize ourselves in these characters.

(Photo: Jay Sefton as “Jim” sits with Sue Dziura as “Josie” in a scene from "A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" by Eugene O'Neill, now playing at the Majestic Theater in West SpringfieldMAthrough December 1, 2024Photo Credit Kait Rankins)

Note: Due to some of the show's intense subject matter and recurring themes of drinking, some may find certain elements uncomfortable or even "triggering." 

One thing for certain is you should bring some extra tissues with you to the theatre as the second act gets quite emotional. 

There were some line gaffs during the October 24th performance but these were minimal and the actors quickly recovered.

It is through the O'Neill's dialogue that the true depths of despair emerge - and we must ride this pity party through until the end, or at least until the "MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" disappears with the morning sun.

"A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" continues in West Springfield at the Majestic Theater until December 1st and this marvelously staged production proves to be as timely as ever.

Up next at the Majestic Theater will be "INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP" by Katie Forgette which begins January 9th, 2025.

For tickets and more information, contact the Majestic Theater box office by phone at # 413-747-7797 or visit www.majestictheater.com    

BUY TICKETS

Approximately two hours, 20 minutes with one intermission.

Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)

@MetrmagReviews

@Theatre_Critics

ABOUT THE SHOW

"A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN" is Eugene O’Neill’s final and most personal play. 

O’Neill completed the script in 1943 but it did not premiere on Broadway until 1957

Set on a dilapidated Connecticut farm, the play focuses on Josie, a woman commanding and tough outside, sensuous and sensitive inside and Jamie Tyrone, a dissipated former actor with an astonishing capacity for alcohol. 

Josie’s father, Phil Hogan, a tenant farmer, suspects that Jamie intends to sell the farm to a hated neighbor and sets a plan in motion to bring Jamie and Josie together. 

This American classic play is a requiem about being able to love and be loved with a unique blend of comedy, tragedy, autobiography and imagination!   

ABOUT THE MAJESTIC THEATER

Locally-produced professional live theater since 1997. Before it was a live theater, local residents may remember THE MAJESTIC THEATER as a movie house. It has since been renovated and reimagined to bring live performances to the West Springfield area, giving local performance and technical artists the opportunity to thrive. Every season at THE MAJESTIC consists of five productions (including at least one musical) featuring local actors. In addition to the subscription season, the summer includes children's theater, concerts, plays, open mic nights, and improvisational comedy shows. Recently named the best place to see live theater in the Pioneer Valley in the Valley Advocate Readers' Poll, THE MAJESTIC THEATER continues to offer great theater thanks to the support and generosity of its 4200+ subscribers.

THE MAJESTIC THEATER

131 Elm Street

West Springfield, MA. 01089

# 413-747-7797

www.majestictheater.com