Hughie
By Eugene O’Neill, directed by Eric Hayes, artistic director Eugene O’Neill Foundation
In the theatre world, Eugene O’Neill is famously known for his extensive and detailed stage directions that sometimes go on for pages. Late in his career, O’Neill wrote Hughie, the tale of two lonely strangers grappling to make sense of their lives, their relationship and their responsibilities to each other. The play normally, seen as an extended monologue, has some of the most elaborate stage directions in the O’Neill canon.
These stage directions are so detailed that director Eric Fraisher Hayes has reimagined the play with the stage directions becoming a third character. This fresh take on the play offers audiences a chance to find a new appreciation for O’Neill the dramatist and the humorist. Between lines of dialogue, a rich inner life is revealed about the characters and their author.
Along with the one-act Hughie, there will be a playful presentation of some of O’Neill greatest stage directions.
