Stately Women in Retrospect: Actresses Jenny Bacon and Joan MacIntosh Recall Their Roles as Sara and Deborah Harford in Ivo van Hove's More Stately Mansions

Though condemned by a majority of the mainstream press, Ivo van Hove's staging of More Stately Mansions at New York Theatre Workshop in the fall of 1997 has become a historic moment in O'Neill production history. Van Hove's physical means of storytelling challenged conventional attitudes about the play by moving the text beyond naturalistic presentations. The production featured standout performances by Jenny Bacon and Joan MacIntosh as Sara and Deborah Harford—characters based on O'Neill's second wife, Carlotta Monterey, and his mother, Ella O'Neill. In this interview the actresses share their recollections of working with van Hove as well as their insights into Sara and Deborah and their thoughts on O'Neill.