STLAS Does Justice to a Much-Studied Masterpiece with Riveting “Long Day’s Journey”

Long Day’s Journey Into Night
by Eugene O’Neill
Directed by Austin Pendleton
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
February 16, 2024

Long Day’s Journey Into Night has a legendary pedigree. It’s considered the magnum opus of one of the most celebrated playwrights of the 20th Century, and it’s been performed and studied at many levels. I read it in high school but hadn’t seen a live performance until this current production from St. Louis Actors’ Studio, which–as directed by celebrated actor and director Austin Pendleton–has proven to be a riveting, ideally cast production that shows just how powerful and profound this play can be. 

Seeing this production, I can see how this play can be seen as such a challenge. The story, openly based on O’Neill’s own life and family, can easily come across as talky and slow if not directed well, but thankfully this production has an ideal director and a stellar cast. The title refers to the fact that the action takes place over one long day, at the summer home of the Tyrone family in 1912. Here, patriarch James Tyrone (William Roth), a celebrated actor who has spent a large part of his career touring in one role, has gathered with his wife, Mary (Meghan Baker) and two sons.  The elder son, the somewhat profligate Jamie (Joel Moses), is also an actor; and the younger son, Edmund (Dustin Petrillo) is an aspiring writer who is suffering from an ailment that the family fears could be consumption (now called tuberculosis). Father and sons are on eggshells around Mary, who has recently returned from a sanitarium to treat her morphine addiction, and Mary herself is in denial about Edmund’s condition, while the sons deal with living up to their parents’ expectations and James’s persistent stinginess, and both James and Mary deal with past regrets regarding James’s career decisions, the loss of a child, and Mary’s remembrances of her life and aspirations attending a convent school before she met James. There’s a lot of reflection, regret, and conflict here, as we also get to see as Edmund has become something of the “last hope” for his family, although that idea is shown more than it’s spoken.

This is a long play, and there’s not much in the way of “action”, although a lot happens in terms of the balance in the relationships and revelations regarding the characters. The pacing is crucial, considering the length of the play, and the performances here give weight to O’Neill’s reflective and intelligent script. The characters are cast well, with each performer given moments to shine, led by Baker’s heartbreakingly convincing portrayal of Mary, who displays a vivid and convincing range of emotions and works well with Roth’s more matter-of-fact James, whose emotions come out more in the play’s last act, along with hints of an Irish brogue that work well to reveal his character’s loss of control while still trying hard to maintain it. Moses and Petrillo are also convincing as the brothers, with Moses credibly portraying the cynical, hard-drinking Jamie and Petrillo embodying Edmund’s talent and ambition along with his concern for his family and personal doubts. Bridgette Bassa also turns in a fine supporting performance as the family’s Irish servant, Cathleen. The drama and emotion here comes largely from the powerful and believable interactions among the characters, with all five players contributing the building sense of urgency and tension as the play goes on.

The mood and atmosphere of the play are also well-realized by means of Patrick Huber’s evocative minimalist set and excellent lighting design, as well as Kristi Gunther’s strong sound design. Teresa Doggett’s costumes are meticulously detailed and suit the characters well, and there’s also excellent work from props designer Emma Glose.  All of these elements work together seamlessly to achieve a convincing dramatic tone and period setting.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night is a much written and talked-about masterpiece, and this production from STLAS and director Austin Pendleton make it easy to see why this play is so lauded. There are many layers of depth in the story, the characters, and the relationships, and a convincing theatrical atmosphere as well. It’s a masterpiece not only for O’Neill, but also for St. Louis Actors’ Studio.

St. Louis Actors’ Studio is presenting Long Day’s Journey Into Night at the Gaslight Theater until February 23, 2024