Nobel-winning playwright's work opens tonight

Eugene O'Neill was the only American playwright to win the Nobel Prize, and the last work written before his death "A Moon for the Misbegotten" will run for 10 performances beginning tonight (Friday) at the Wells-Metz Theatre.\nThe realist playwright Eugene O'Neill explores the frailty of the human condition by using well drawn characters, humorous despair and does so with the skill that makes him the noted dramatist of the 20th century he is.\n"Moon" is set in a beat-up farm house in 1923 Connecticut, with drinking pals James Tyrone, Jr. (Ira Amyx) and tenant farmer Phil Hogan (Chris Nelson) amusing themselves while in a drunken stupor. In a casual joke, Tyrone says he'll sell his farm and evict Hogan. Hogan, now afraid for his home and way of life, schemes to manipulate the affections between Tyrone and his daughter Josie, played by Sheila Regan.\nThe two "misbegotten" lovers come to understand the love and lies that stain their pasts and futures. And they then seek a measure of redemption that might grant them hope. \nDirecting the show is Steven Decker. Decker's past credits include directing a production of "True West" and the 2001 T300 Studio Theatre production of "Fish in the Desert." \nThe work still has social value despite its age, says Decker "I think about the world we live in today- increasingly isolated, many single parents raising children the best they can, addiction is on the rise, some quest for fame over substance, everyone living with regret...we see it all in this play."\nWritten by O'Neill as an act of homage to his brother, who drank himself to death in 1923. And a year after the death of their mother, the play is about being able to love and be loved despite the masks we wear even with those closest to us. \nOf director Decker, Chris Nelson says, "He is laid back but also intense. He has ways of getting the best of his actors without telling them too much…He is passionate about what de does, and I feel that more often than not, that passion will rub off on al those having to do with the production."\nTwo opportunities are being offered to learn more about the playwright and production itself. The IU Department of Theatre and Drama interim chairman Ronald Wainscott delivered a lecture on Thursday on lobby mezzanine in the Theatre and Drama Center at 7th and Jordan. Wainscott is a noted scholar on 19th and 20th Century drama and has also studied Eugene O'Neill. The lecture is free and open to the public. On Tuesday, Oct. 29 there will be a curtain talk with the company, directors, and designers following the performance. \nHarvey Cocks is a former Broadway performer and theatre/film historian who supports the notion devised by scholars at Howard Community College in Columbia, Maryland: "O'Neill is the paternal figure of the American stage. His works serve as a transition from escapist melodrama to work that show a mental depth with techniques considered experimental. He used masks. His influence shows in the writings of the likes of Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, and Edward Albee."\nA "A Moon for the Misbegotten" plays October 25, 26 and 28 through November 2 at 8 p.m. On both Saturdays of the run, there will be a 2 p.m. matinee. Tickets can be purchased at the IU Auditorium Box Office and through TicketMaster at (812) 333-9955 or (317) 743-5151. For more ticketing information, call 812-855-1103. Tickets are $15. $13 for students and seniors. Parking is available at the Jordan Avenue Parking Garage or the Lilly Library lot.\nAs a special note to IU students, at 30 minutes prior the start of any performance all students with a valid ID may purchase a ticket for $10 cash, a $3 savings from the normal price.