Long Day's Journey Into Night is a dramatic play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill, widely considered to be his masterwork. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1957. Eugene ONeill Eugene Gladstone ONeill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was a Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning American playwright. ... The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918. ... See also: 1956 in literature, other events of 1957, 1958 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

Summary

The action covers a fateful, heart-wrenching day (from around 8.30 in the morning to 12.00 midnight) in August of 1912 at the seaside Connecticut home of the Tyrones - the autobiographical representations of O'Neill himself, his brother, and their parents.

Characters

• James Tyrone Sr. - An Irish-born retired actor who made a career playing one particular role in a commercially successful but artistically unfulfilling play. He has a strong work ethic and is very frugal - almost stingy - due to his father abandoning him at age 10.
• Edmund - The younger and more intellectually and poetically inclined son, who finds out in the play that he suffers from tuberculosis. He has returned home after a stint as a sailor and prolonged drunken binges, and is dependent once again on his father for a home and money.
• James Jr. ("Jamie") - The older son who is an affable alcoholic and also an actor, employed by his father's production company because no one else will hire him. He's an alcoholic, wasting his money on whiskey and whores.
• Mary Cavan Tyrone - The wife and mother of the family who lapses between self-delusion and the haze of her morphine addiction. [See "Morphine Addiction" below]
• Cathleen - She is the summer maid, often referred to as stupid and lazy. She accompanies Mary into town.

Long Days Journey Into Night is a dramatic play in four acts by Eugene ONeill, widely considered to be his masterwork. ...

Key topics

Mary Tyrone's morphine addiction

This is the result of the shoddy ministrations of a quack doctor during her difficult labor and delivery of Edmund twenty-three years prior. Tyrone is often blamed for this as his stinginess is cited as a reason he didn't pay for a better doctor. Mary is treated in a sanatorium for this condition. Even after being released from the institution, Mary is still addicted to morphine, but is unable to accept her addiction.

Repetition

The day described in this play is very routine and repetitious. Act I scene i occurs right after breakfast, Act II scene i occurs before lunch and Act II scene ii occurs right after lunch. Act III occurs before dinner. Throughout the day, drinking is heavy and is perhaps the basis of the cycle of arguments which occur. Their arguments deal with the sickness of Edmund and the addiction of Mary, as well as the lack of commercial success experienced by Edmund and Jamie in comparison with their father. The arguments also deal with Mary's accusation that Tyrone does not provide a "real" home for her.

Alcohol

The male characters drink throughout the play. This provides them with a way to escape from the realities of the home. Mary does not drink, but also escapes from the home, through her use of morphine.

History of the play

Upon its completion in 1942, O'Neill had a sealed copy of the play placed in the vault of publisher Random House, and instructed that it not be published until 25 years after his death, and never performed. A formal contract to that effect was drawn up in 1945. However, O'Neill's third wife Carlotta Monterey transferred the rights of the play to Yale University, skirting the agreement. The copyright page of Yale editions of the play states the conditions of Carlotta's gift: 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... In architecture, a vault is an arched structure of masonry, forming a ceiling or canopy. ... Random House is a publishing division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann based in New York City. ... 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Yale redirects here. ...

All royalties from the sale of the Yale editions of this book go to Yale University for the benefit of the Eugene O'Neill Collection, for the purchase of books in the field of drama, and for the establishment of Eugene O'Neill Scholarships in the Yale School of Drama. Yale School of Drama traces its roots to the Yale Dramatic Association, the second oldest college theatre association in the country, founded in 1900. ...

The play was first published in 1956, three years after its author's death. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

O'Neill presented the manuscript of the play to his wife Carlotta on their twelfth wedding anniversary in 1941, with a dedication that read:

For Carlotta, on our 12th Wedding Anniversary

Dearest: "I give you the original script of this play of old sorrow, written in tears and blood. A sadly inappropriate gift, it would seem, for a day celebrating happiness. But you will understand. I mean it as a tribute to your love and tenderness which gave me the faith in love that enabled me to face my dead at last and write this play--write it with deep pity and understanding and forgiveness for all the four haunted Tyrones.

These twelve years, Beloved One, have been a Journey into Light--into love. You know my gratitude. And my love!

Gene

Tao House

July 22, 1941.

Productions

Premiere productions

In keeping with O’Neill’s wishes, Long Day's Journey Into Night was first performed by the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. During his lifetime, the Swedish had embraced O’Neill’s work to a far greater extent than had any other nation, including his own. Thus, the play had its world premiere in Stockholm on February 2, 1956, in a production directed by Bengt Ekerot, with the cast of Lars Hanson (James Tyrone), Inga Tidblad (Mary Tyrone), Ulf Palme (James Tyrone, Jr.), Jarl Kulle (Edmund Tyrone) and Caterine Westerlund (Cathleen, the serving-maid or "second girl" as O'Neill's script dubs her). Stockholm panorama from the City Hall (IPA: ; UN/LOCODE: SE STO) is the capital of Sweden, and consequently the site of its Government and Parliament as well as the residence of the Swedish head of state, King Carl XVI Gustaf. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bengt Ekerot (February 8, 1920 – November 26, 1971) was a Swedish actor. ...

The Broadway debut of Long Day's Journey Into Night took place at the Helen Hayes Theatre on November 7, 1956 (shortly after its American premiere at New Haven's Shubert Theatre).[1] The production was directed by José Quintero, and its cast included Fredric March (James Tyrone), Florence Eldridge (Mary Tyrone), Jason Robards, Jr. (“Jamie” Tyrone) Bradford Dillman (Edmund), and Katharine Ross (Cathleen). The production won 1957 Tony Award for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play (Fredric March). Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... The Helen Hayes Theatre (originally the Little Theatre) is a Broadway theatre at 240 West 44th Street in New York City. ... November 7 is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 54 days remaining. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the city in Connecticut. ... The Shubert Theatre is a 1600 seat theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, originally opened in 1914. ... José Benjamin Quintero, born (October 15, 1924, Panama City, Panama - February 26, 1999, New York, USA) was a theatre director and teacher, best known for his interpretations of the works of Eugene ONeill. ... Fredric March photograph by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Fredric March (August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Jason Nelson Robards Jr. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... A Tony Award for Best Play has been awarded since 1947. ... The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play is awarded to the actor who was voted as the best actor in a play, whether a new production or a revival. ...

The play’s first production in the United Kingdom came in 1958, opening first in Edinburgh, Scotland and then moving to the Globe Theatre in London’s West End. It was directed again by Quintero, and the cast included Anthony Quayle (Tyrone), Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies (Mary), Ian Bannen (Jamie), Alan Bates (Edmund), and Etain O’Dell (Cathleen). 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Motto: (Latin for No one provokes me with impunity)1 Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow Official language(s) English, Gaelic, Scots2 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen of the UK Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister of the UK Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Jack McConnell MSP Unification    - by... Schillers Don Carlos starring Derek Jacobi as Philip II of Spain at the Gielgud Theatre, February 2005 The Gielgud Theatre, named after British actor John Gielgud, is a West End theatre in Londons Shaftesbury Avenue at the corner of Rupert Street. ... London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and of the United Kingdom. ... The West End of London is part of the city centre of London in England. ... Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was an English actor and director. ... Dame Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies DBE (25 January 1891–27 January 1992), was a British actress and centenarian. ... Ian Bannen (June 29, 1928 - November 3, 1999) was a Scottish character actor and occasional leading man. ... Alan Bates as butler in Gosford Park (2001) Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE, (February 17, 1934 – December 27, 2003) was a British actor. ...

Film adaptations

The play was made into a 1962 film starring Katharine Hepburn as Mary, Ralph Richardson as Tyrone, Jason Robards, Jr. as Jamie, Dean Stockwell as Edmund, and Jeanne Barr as Cathleen. The movie was directed by Sidney Lumet. At that year’s Cannes Film Festival Richardson, Robards and Stockwell all received Best Actor awards, and Hepburn was named Best Actress. Hepburn’s performance would later draw a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic four-time Academy Award-winning American star of film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. ... Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, did their best to make the transition to film. ... Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Jason Nelson Robards Jr. ... Dean Stockwell Dean Stockwell (born March 5, 1936 in North Hollywood, California) is an American actor who is best-known for his role as Admiral Albert Al Calavicci in the American TV series Quantum Leap. ... Portrait of Sidney Lumet, May 7, 1939. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ...

Another adaptation, directed by Canadian director David Wellington in 1996, starred William Hutt as Tyrone, Martha Henry as Mary, Peter Donaldson as Jamie, Tom McCamus as Edmund and Martha Burns as Cathleen. The same cast had previously performed the play at Canada's Stratford Festival; Wellington essentially filmed the stage production without significant changes. The film swept the acting awards at the 17th Genie Awards, winning awards for Hutt, Henry, Donaldson and Burns. David Wellington is a contemporary American horror author, best known for his novel Monster Island and its sequels. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... William Ian DeWitt Hutt, CC , O.Ont , MM , BA , DFA , D.Litt (born May 2, 1920) is a Canadian actor of stage and film. ... Martha Henry (born February 17, 1938) is a Canadian stage, film, and television actress. ... Tom McCamus (born July 25, 1955) is an award-winning film and theatre actor who is most widely known for his work on the science-fiction television show Mutant X. McCamus was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, but was brought up in London, Ontario from the age of 10 when... Martha Burns is a Genie Award-winning Canadian actress who currently appears in the sitcom Slings and Arrows. ... The Stratford Festival of Canada is a summer-long celebration of theatre. ... The 17th Genie Awards were held on November 27, 1996, to honour films released in late 1995 and 1996. ...

Other notable productions

• 1971, Promenade Theatre (Broadway), New York; with Robert Ryan (Tyrone), Geraldine Fitzgerald (Mary), Stacy Keach (Jamie), James Naughton (Edmund), and Paddy Croft (Cathleen), directed by Arvin Brown.

• 1971, National Theatre, London; with Laurence Olivier (Tyrone), Constance Cummings (Mary), Denis Quilley (Jamie), Ronald Pickup (Edmund), and Jo Maxwell-Muller (Cathleen), directed by Michael Blakemore. This production would be adapted into a televised version, which aired March 10, 1973; the cast was as above, excepting the substitution of Maureen Lipman (Cathleen). The TV version was directed by Michael Blakemore and Peter Wood.

• 1976, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY; with Jason Robards, Jr. (Tyrone), Zoe Caldwell (Mary), Kevin Conway (Jamie), Michael Moriarty (Edmund), and Lindsay Crouse (Cathleen), directed by Jason Robards, Jr.

• 1982, ABC-TV; with an all African-American cast of Earle Hyman (Tyrone), Ruby Dee (Mary), Thommie Blackwell (Jamie), and Peter Francis-James (Edmund).

• 1986, Broadhurst Theatre (Broadway), New York; with Jack Lemmon (Tyrone), Bethel Leslie (Mary), Kevin Spacey (Jamie), Peter Gallagher (Edmund), and Jodie Lynne McClintock (Cathleen), directed by Jonathan Miller. A television version of this production was aired in 1987.

• 1988, Neil Simon Theatre (Broadway), New York; with Jason Robards, Jr. (Tyrone), Colleen Dewhurst (Mary), Jamey Sheridan (Jamie), Campbell Scott (Edmund), and Jane Macfie (Cathleen), directed by José Quintero.

This production ran in repertory with O’Neill’s play, Ah, Wilderness!, (in which the author’s youth and family are depicted as he wished they had been), featuring the same actors. Dewhurst was also the real-life mother of Campbell Scott (by her marriage to actor George C. Scott). 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... Geraldine Fitzgerald Geraldine Fitzgerald (24 November 1913 - 17 July 2005) was an Irish-American actress. ... Stacy Keach (born June 2, 1941) is an American actor and narrator. ... James Naughton (b. ... Paddy Croft, born Patricia Croft is a Woking, Surrey, England-born actress, daughter of an Irish mother and an English father, who almost always plays Irish roles onstage, in movies and on television. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... The Royal National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge The Royal National Theatre is a building complex and theatre company located on the South Bank in London, England immediately east of the southern end of Waterloo Bridge. ... Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM (22 May 1907–11 July 1989) was an Academy Award winning English actor, director, and producer. ... Constance Cummings, CBE (May 15, 1910 – November 23, 2005) was an American-born British actress, known for her work on both screen and stage. ... Denis Quilley (December 26, 1927 - October 5, 2003) was a British theatre, television and film character actor who was long associated with the Royal National Theatre. ... Ronald Pickup is a well-established British actor, born in Chester, Cheshire on 7 June 1940. ... Michael Blakemore on the cover of his memoir, Arguments with England Michael Howell Blakemore, OBE, (b. ... March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in leap years). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Maureen Lipman CBE (born Hull, 10 May 1946), is a British film, theatre and television actress, columnist, and comedienne. ... Peter Wood Peter Wood (?-1993) was a british musician, born in Middlesex, England, and a member of Quiver, and Natural Gas, before he began to work closely with Roger Waters, as well as Cyndi Lauper, Jonathan Kelly and Bob Dylan just to mention a few. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Brooklyn Academy of Music ( pronounced BAM! in Emerilese) is located in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, at 30 Lafayette Avenue near the Flatbush Avenue Station of the Long Island Rail Road and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank, the tallest building in Brooklyn. ... A map of New York City, highlighting Brooklyn. ... Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Jason Nelson Robards Jr. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Kevin Conway (born May 29, 1942 in New York City) is an American actor and film director. ... Michael Moriarty as Benjamin Stone on Law & Order. ... Lindsay Crouse (b. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... An African American (also Afro-American or Black American) is a member of an ethnic group in the United States whose ancestors, usually in predominant part, were indigenous to sub-saharan Africa. ... Earle Hyman (born October 11, 1926) is an American actor. ... Ruby Dee (born October 27, 1924) is an African-American actress and activist. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Broadhurst Theatre is a Broadway theatre. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Jack Lemmon at Expo 1967. ... Kevin Spacey (born Kevin Spacey Fowler[1] on July 26, 1959) is an American film and stage actor, as well as London-based theatre director. ... Peter Gallagher At i Cucini Restaurant, Santa Monica. ... Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller, CBE (born July 21, 1934) is a British physician, theatre and opera director and television presenter. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... , The Neil Simon Theater, formerly known as the Alvin Theater, is a Broadway theatre located at 250 West 52nd Street in Manhattan, New York City which has produced many notable musicals and plays. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Robards in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Jason Nelson Robards Jr. ... Colleen Dewhurst (born June 3, 1924; died August 22, 1991) was a Canadian-born actress best known for playing Marilla Cuthbert in the various Anne of Green Gables productions from Sullivan Entertainment. ... Jamey Sheridan (born July 12 1951 Pasadena, California) is an American actor. ... Campbell Scott (born July 19, 1961 in New York City, New York, USA) is an American actor. ... José Benjamin Quintero, born (October 15, 1924, Panama City, Panama - February 26, 1999, New York, USA) was a theatre director and teacher, best known for his interpretations of the works of Eugene ONeill. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Ah, Wilderness! is a play by Eugene ONeill, and has the distinction of being the only true comedy he would ever write. ... George C Scott as General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubricks George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was a film/stage actor, director, and producer. ...

• 1991, National Theatre, London; with Timothy West (Tyrone), Prunella Scales (Mary), Sean McGinley (Jamie), Stephen Dillane (Edmund), and Geraldine Fitzgerald (Cathleen), directed by Howard Davies.

• 1995, Stratford Festival of Canada, Stratford, Ontario; with William Hutt (Tyrone), Martha Henry (Mary), Peter Donaldson (Jamie), Tom McCamus (Edmund), and Martha Burns (Cathleen), directed by Diana Leblanc. This production was made into a film in 1996, directed by David Wellington.

• 2000, Lyric Theatre, London; with Jessica Lange (Mary), Charles Dance (Tyrone), Paul Rudd (Jamie), Paul Nicholls (Edmund), and Olivia Colman (Cathleen).

• 2003, Plymouth Theatre (Broadway), New York; with Brian Dennehy (Tyrone), Vanessa Redgrave (Mary), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Jamie), Robert Sean Leonard (Edmund), and Fiana Toibin (Cathleen), directed by Robert Falls.

1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Royal National Theatre from Waterloo Bridge The Royal National Theatre is a building complex and theatre company located on the South Bank in London, England immediately east of the southern end of Waterloo Bridge. ... Timothy West CBE (born October 20, 1934) is a British film, stage and television actor. ... Prunella Scales CBE (born June 22, 1932) is an English actor best known for her role as Sybil Fawlty in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers. ... Stephen Dillane (born c. ... Howard Davies is a noted British theatre director. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Exterior of the Straford Festival The Stratford Festival of Canada is a summer-long celebration of theatre. ... Stratford (2001 population 29,676) is a city on the Avon River in Perth County, in southwestern Ontario, Canada. ... William Hutt (born May 2, 1920) is a Canadian actor best known for his work on the stage. ... Martha Henry (born February 17, 1938) is a Canadian stage, film, and television actress. ... Tom McCamus (born July 25, 1955) is an award-winning film and theatre actor who is most widely known for his work on the science-fiction television show Mutant X. McCamus was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, but was brought up in London, Ontario from the age of 10 when... Martha Burns is a Genie Award-winning Canadian actress who currently appears in the sitcom Slings and Arrows. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... David Wellington is a contemporary American horror author, best known for his novel Monster Island and its sequels. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The Lyric Theatre is a theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue London, the heart of the West End. ... Jessica Lange in The Glass Menagerie (2005) Jessica Phyllis Lange (born April 20, 1949 in Cloquet, Minnesota) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress. ... Charles Dance (born October 10, 1946 in Worcester, England) is a British actor. ... Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is a Broadway theatre. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Brian Dennehy in Death of a Salesman Brian Dennehy parodied in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut Brian Dennehy (born July 9, 1938 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) is an Irish-American actor who has appeared in movies, television shows, and stage productions. ... Vanessa Redgrave during the 2004 season of Nip/Tuck. ... Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (born July 23, 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Robert Sean Leonard as Dr. James Wilson on House Robert Sean Leonard (born Robert Lawrence Leonard on February 28, 1969, in Westwood, New Jersey) is an American actor who is most noted for his role as an aspiring actor, Neil Perry, in the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society. ...

Sources

• eOneill.com, accessed February 7-11, 2005
• The Internet Broadway database, accessed February 7, 2005
• Scottish Theatre Archive, accessed February 8-9, 2005