Firebelly's Latest Really Is a Long Journey

by MATT REVILLE, Staff Writer

(Created: Monday, February 11, 2008 7:00 AM EST)

The truth-in-advertising squad will have no quibbles with Firebelly Productions' latest effort, “Long Day's Journey Into Night.”

It is long (three hours, almost on the nose) and it does chronicle a journey, in this instance the toxic relationship of a family stuck in their downtrodden summer home and facing all manner of woes and maladies.

The problem - apologies in advance to the august reputation of playwright Eugene O'Neill in general, and this play in particular - is that his semi-autobiographical script is so uninteresting that it sent some patrons scurrying home at the first intermission, leaving some of the survivors to do battle with a trance-like stupor as the remainder of the show unfolded.

“Journey” still has its place for discussion in the academic world, but as a work of live theater, its time has passed. And there's not much the actors and director at Firebelly could do about that.

(That last paragraph, of course, is heresy from an apostate who actually believes that good theater is what interests an audience, not what appeals to those who put it on the stage. For years, iterations of this show have attracted big stars and won big awards, but that alone doesn't make it an entertaining evening out for those sitting in the seats and paying the freight.)

Over the course of three acts, family members treat each other with all manner of contempt.

Papa is an aging matinée idol, Irish in temperament, prone to drink and unwilling to part with a dollar. Mama has pretentions, a nervous disorder and a drug habit. The two children, who at their age should long ago have been out of the house, battle their own demons.

Throughout the course of the show, each of the characters takes aim at the others with heapings of bile and vitriol, a scattershot approach that guarantees the only one who will win any sympathy is the servant girl.

But, eventually, there has to be a plot twist, right? Something to liven up the proceedings, to take us in a new direction, to make it all worthwhile, right? Murder-suicide pact, tragic accident, song-and-dance number?

Alas, this journey meanders from beginning to end, taking its time to get there. And this is 2008, not the 1950s when audience attention spans were longer.

The acting? Absolutely fine. John Collins was quite good as the patriarch, and Patricia Foreman's work as the mother brought to mind some of the dramatic efforts of Mary Tyler Moore (nice company to be in). Jon Townson and Andrew Pecararo were solid as the sons, and Theresee McNichol enjoys some time in the spotlight as the servant.

Director Kathi Gollwitzer does fine in keeping the production moving, but the script just keeps on coming, and coming. I very much like the innovation of limiting the two intermissions to seven minutes apiece. And, pay attention: they mean it.

The technical aspects were solid: set (Andrew Berry), costumes (Gollwitzer) and sound (Thomas Terlecki) all were effective.

But, at the end of the day (or night), there had better be a really good reason to produce a three-hour show on the local stage. This work of O'Neill, masterpiece of its era or not, doesn't reach that threshold.

“Long Day's Journey Into Night” runs through March 2 at Theatre-on-the-Run, 3700 Four Mile Run Dr. in Arlington.

Performances are Wednesdays to Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors.

For information, call (703) 409-2372 or see the Web site at www.firebellyproductions.net.