Writer’s Soul Seems Close to ‘Journey’

Nobel Prize-winner Eugene O’Neill’s autobiographical drama “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” now at Alternative Repertory Theatre, is his most deeply felt look into the dark family he knew as a boy, with a father who was a famous actor and an alcoholic, and a beleaguered drug-addicted mother. His cloddish older brother was no joy either.

It’s an entirely different view of his youth than his earlier “Ah, Wilderness,” which was about the family life he would have liked to have lived.

The playwright specified that “Long Day’s Journey” should be kept under wraps until a quarter of a century after his death, but his widow, Carlotta, allowed its performance only three years after O’Neill died. She claimed she was in touch with her husband after his death. Late director Jose Quintero said that once, when he was seeking permission to direct another O’Neill play, Carlotta immediately channeled Eugene, received his consent and offered instructions on the play’s production. O’Neill still seems to hover over his works, particularly “Long Day’s Journey.”

ART artistic director Patricia Terry, who is guiding this production, feels her theater’s “intimate space is the perfect setting for the drama.” The story is large, but the playwright’s view of this period of his life focuses sharply on the tiniest details of his family’s world; the audience is drawn in and observes the characters who bare their souls during moments light and dark.

* “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” Alternative Repertory Theatre, 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 5 p.m.; Feb. 3 and 10, 8 p.m.; Saturday matinees, Feb. 19, 26 and March 4, 2 p.m. Ends March 4. $22-$25. (714) 836-7929.

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