A Moon for the Misbegotten Tickets – Five Times on Broadway

‘A Moon for the Misbegotten’ is a play by Eugene O’Neill that has been produced on Broadway four times already. It is a difficult theatrical production and each production could not run for very long. The play requires excellent acting skills and convincing sets as it concentrates more on character than narrative. The first Broadway production opened on May 2, 1957 and ran for 68 shows.

The second production opened on December 29, 1973 and was directed by Jose Quintero. It had a better fate than the first production and ran for 313 shows. The third time it was presented was on May 1, 1984, at the Cort Theater. It was directed by David Leveaux and it ran for 40 shows. The fourth production was directed by Daniel Sullivan and opened on March 19, 2000 and it ran for 120 performances.

Director Howard Davies presented the fifth production of ‘A Moon for the Misbegotten’, which opened on April 8, 2007. It stars Kevin Spacey and Eve Best as Jim Tyrone and Josie Hogan. The play’s run was limited and was scheduled till June 10.

The story of ‘A Moon for the Misbegotten’ is based in about Jim Tyrone, an alcoholic former actor who is the landlord of farmer Phil Hogan. They both are drinking companions quite often and after a bout of drinking one night, Tyrone tells Hogan that he might sell his land and evict both Hogan and his daughter, Josie. Hogan is a conniving man and thinks of a scheme to prevent Tyrone from throwing him out of his house.

Hogan’s daughter is a woman who has a reputation of being with several men. She has a soft corner for Tyrone and her father notices that. Phil Hogan devises a plan and tells Josie to get Tyrone drunk and seduce him. His plan is to catch Tyrone taking advantage of his daughter. What follows is one moonlit night when both Josie and Jim get drunk and they reveal their true feelings for each other. In this memorable scene, both characters reveal their grief, longing and unrequited love that they have so far not shown anyone.
‘A Moon for the Misbegotten’ can be called a shattering love story of Josie Hogan and Jim Tyrone where they attain salvation and love in that one night. There is no telling what the dawn will bring but they live a lifetime in that night, where both are at peace which they know is an illusion.

It is a beautiful as well as sad story which happens to be Eugene O’Neill’s only love story and is said to be considered a sequel to his earlier play, ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ and is based on his brother Jamie O’Neill’s tragic life. He wrote this play in 1943.

The main attraction of Broadway production is the cast. Oscar Winner Kevin Spacey, Olivier Award Winner Eve Best and Colm Meaney are famous in their own right and more people thronged to the theater to watch the play mainly to watch actors of such caliber performing on stage.