Long Day's Journey Into Night by Cynthia Meier (review)

Living in Arizona these last twenty years, and all in the Phoenix metro area, I had never been aware of any theatre companies south of us in Tucson. I'm happy to report that my ignorance was not an indication of any lack of high-quality productions or audiences who appreciate great drama—two phenomena, I must confess, I would like to encounter more often in my part of the state. Tucson's Rogue Theatre Company, led by artistic director Joseph McGrath and managing director and associate artistic director Cynthia Meier, has fostered a company of truly professional actors and technical artists. In recognition of their achievements, the American Theatre Wing honored them with the National Theatre Company Award in 2012. They have presented seasons of challenging plays, particularly the works of Shakespeare and the greats of American modernism, and the company has no intention of slowing down. The Rogue's production of Long Day's Journey Into Night, directed by Meier and featuring McGrath as James Tyrone, was captivating from start to finish: it clarified the play's questions rather than answering them, and it provided performances that constantly surprised rather than veering into cliché.

The production was presented with the audience on three sides of an arena stage, with all the energy of the audience bearing down on a round table and chairs, a rocking chair, a hanging lamp, and a staircase upstage leading ominously upward into space. Actors freely used the paths between audience sections for exits to the porch or dining room, giving the production an open yet intimate feel. Since the space has a tall ceiling, it allowed the actors to convey their energy and voices as loudly or softly as they desired without betraying the intimacy of the playing space. This simple and compact stage configuration caused the production to use the stairs and chairs around the table in an unusually flexible way. While this removed some of the ominous nature of the staircase symbolically, which was refreshing, it also attenuated its power at important moments, such as when Mary descends with her wedding dress at the end of the play.

This production was blessed with the talent of guest artist Theresa McElwee, who, as Mary Tyrone, was in full control of her powers and delivered a rich and nuanced character. One of the beauties of her performance was that she didn't play the ending of the play from the beginning—that is to say, her act 1 demeanor did not foreshadow the character's devastating descent at the end of the play, something I have rarely experienced with other actresses in this role. She began extremely light and pleasant, not giving us a clue about the darkness of her addiction, and this allowed her to describe a much more detailed arc of development as she moved through the play. McElwee and Meier also brought out more of Mary's religious underpinnings, even at one point having her kneeling in prayer. McElwee's Mary clung to her husband, James, while her nimble movements gave the illusion of a floating figure desperately seeking to return to earth. Sadly, even the morphine she succumbs to gives her no solace or pleasure. She is a confused and tortured soul, but McElwee's performance never feels forced or the stuff of an overripe actor; her searching is endless and justifies her recalling her life at the end of the play as if it was someone else's.

McGrath's James Tyrone was also a pleasure; his was a more "balanced" James than many I've seen. He has seen his best days, yet he is somehow accepting of life, even if he never fully understands how he ended up where he did. This James does not overreact to his sons, as others have done. He consoles and protects his wife as a loving husband, even as it's clear that he has no understanding of her relationship to the "poison" of...