If you say that in town a play is being presented in town about the effects of prescription opioid addiction on families facing mental health issues more than the effects of past trauma, you’ll probably ask me that a modern playwright came up with it.
Now, spoiler warning, the answer is Eugene O’Neill, who died in 1941, and his autobiographical play is set in 1912 more than a century ago, to be precise.
Of course, that play – “A Journey to a Long Night” – is on the stage of productions of ensemble companies that excel in classic dramas like this. It’s not a perfect piece, but it’s a compelling piece. And in every play about relationships, director Matthew McDermid skillfully hones the complex connections between the members of the Tyrone family.
Patriarch James is an actor and is Tight Wad, as the rest of his clan frequently reminds him. His two adult sons, Jamie and Edmund, still live in the house, usually broken and normally drink. Unfortunately, Edmund’s health is reduced by coughing, which is likely not due to the cold summer.
However, the family appears to have recovered from an unspecified illness, so the play begins, so at least as good as these broken characters can be summoned, the family is fine. It’s not a spoiler to tell her that after a painful birth, she was given morphine and has been suffering from addiction issues ever since.
As the title suggests, the story takes place over a day and Gabriel Garcia’s lighting is not always Tyrone’s home mood, but it effectively shows the passage of time.
These are people who are troubled by the past and trapped in the present, and O’Neill creates the idea of a “home” and what constitutes the sense of love and safety that a “home” brings. The Bonnie Sprung homespan set is perfectly fine at face value, but it doesn’t particularly enhance the atmosphere.
However, the MacDermid actors do well to create an uneasy atmosphere that starts with body language. This is what we call today’s “toxic environments,” with lifelong grieving, irrational anger and unresolved sadness defeating each character.
Garcia, portraying James and David Lowe, gives him the most natural performance as James. The expansion scenes of cards and many drinks are the top spots for the production. Garcia skillfully illustrates emotions ranging from light-headedness to childlike hope for parental approval. As Lowe recounts the childhood struggles of his character, he is filled with a beautiful faint light of anger, pride, victory and self-awareness.
Trevor Spence as the ironic alcoholic Edmund and Janine Henry as Mary come across more accessories in the place. Edmund often plays shows for his family, so it makes some sense in Spence’s case, with Spence delivering important monologues about the limits of love and the power of jealousy and hatred.
Henry has a lovely moment, especially when he remembers happiness in the past, but it is not always true that it will sway between Mary’s sharp tongue’s present and swaying past.
In her small role as a servant, Brianna Small adds a bit of lightness and empathy to the emotional entanglement.
It’s a joy to hear these actors read O’Neill’s inspiring words. As Mary literally covers the town and worries about the mist that plagues this divided family, we can see the heavy grey mist rolling over, again turning out the Tyron family’s light.
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“A long day trip to the night”
Length: 3:35, Includes 2 Intermissions Location: Imagine the Performing Arts Center at Oviedo Mall Blvd, Oviedo Mall. On Oviedo: March 14th-15th 7:30pm March 16th 2pm Cost: $18-$22 Information: ImaginePerformingArtScenter.org
