NY Review: 'A Moon for the Misbegotten'
David Sheward
March 18, 2012: Ever since it was revived in 1973, Eugene O'Neill's once forgotten "A Moon for the Misbegotten" has become a favorite vehicle for actors to flex their dramatic muscles. Completed in 1943, the play continues the tragic downward spiral of Jamie Tyrone, the wastrel elder brother of "Long Day's Journey Into Night," as he attempts to find solace in the arms of an earth-mother figure in the form of Josie Hogan, a boisterous yet tenderhearted farmwoman. The drama combines the pathos of Jim's battle against his inner demons with raucous Irish humor derived from the antics of Josie and her leprechaun-like father, Phil, who live on land rented from Tyrone. It premiered on Broadway in 1957, four years after the playwright's death, received mixed notices, and closed after only 68 performances. "Moon" was largely ignored until director José Quintero staged that legendary revitalizing production, with Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurst plunging to the depths of the characters' souls and sharing the treasures found there with grateful critics and audiences.
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