Circle in the Square Plaque Honors Eugene O'Neill

Theodore Mann and Paul Libin, on behalf of Circle in the Square Theatre, paid tribute to playwright Eugene O'Neill on Saturday with a special plaque placed on the former site of the Golden Swan (also known as the Hell Hole), one of O'Neill's inspirations for Harry Hope's saloon in "The Iceman Cometh."

The outdoor ceremony, which was part of the Eugene O'Neill International Conference being held in New York June 22-26, took place at West 4th Street and Sixth Avenue, where the Golden Swan was located. In attendance were renowned O'Neill biographers Arthur and Barbara Gelb and other major O'Neilleans. Following the plaque's installation, the Gelbs led a three-hour bus tour of "O'Neill's New York" for 100 of the conference delegates from various parts of the globe.

It was Circle in the Square's highly acclaimed revival of "The Iceman Cometh" in May 1956-followed that same year with the American premiere of O'Neill's "Long Days Journey into Night" for which he was awarded posthumously a Pulitzer Prize-that initiated a re-evaluation of O'Neill and led to his recognition as American's greatest playwright. Since the 1956 "Iceman" revival, Circle in the Square has produced 19 O'Neill productions - more than any other theatre.

Theodore Mann is a co-founder of Circle in the Square (1951), which was originally located in Sheridan Square. He and legendary stage director Jose Quintero (a co-founder with Mann) brought to its stage many groundbreaking and history-making productions, beginning with Tennessee Williams' "Summer and Smoke" in 1952, considered to be the birth of Off-Broadway.

Paul Libin, who is also Vice President of Jujamcyn Theatres, became co-producer with Mann in 1963 and together they have produced more than 175 plays, including acclaimed productions of both classic and new American and European plays from Shaw, Shakespeare, Chekhov and Moliere to works by Sam Shepard, Thornton Wilder, Athol Fugard, Arthur Miller, Truman Capote, Horton Foote, Noel Coward, Jules Feiffer and Terrence McNally, among others. Included in the Circle family of actors are Al Pacino, James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Ruby Dee, Nathan Lane, Kevin Kline, Philip Seymour Hoffman, George C. Scott, JoAnne Woodward, John Malkovich, Annette Bening, Dustin Hoffman, Frank Langella, and many more.

Circle in the Square moved from its Greenwich Village origins to its new home on Broadway in 1972 and honored the playwright with whom it had been most closely identified-Eugene O'Neill-by opening the theatre with an O'Neill play-"Mourning Becomes Electra" ("a groundbreaking production," The New Yorker), which starred Colleen Dewhurst and was directed by Mann.

In 2000 Circle also paid tribute to the playwright with a special plaque that was placed on the site of the Barrett House Hotel (43rd Street and Broadway) where O'Neill was born on October 16, 1888.

The inscription on the Golden Swan plaque reads:
"In the early 1900's, at this site stood the Golden Swan, also known as the Hell Hole, one of Eugene O'Neill's inspirations for Harry Hope's saloon in "The Iceman Cometh," produced at our Circle in the Square Theatre at Sheridan Square on May 8, 1956."
- Theodore Mann & Paul Libin
Dedicated June 22, 2011

The next production at Circle in the Square Theatre will be a revival of the musical "Godspell," with previews scheduled to begin on October 13 and opening night on November 7.

 

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