Metropolitan Playhouse to Present Reading of Eugene O'Neill's WHERE THE CROSS IS MADE

Obie Award winner Metropolitan Playhouse will present a free "screened" reading of WHERE THE CROSS IS MADE, a ghost story by Eugene O'Neill, via live stream video, with talkback to follow, on
Saturday, June 20th, 2020 at 8 PM, EST.

In the ghost story WHERE THE CROSS IS MADE, Nat Bartlett is ready to give up on his father, grounded sea captain Isaiah, who cannot give up his fixation on a treasure lost years ago in the South Pacific. Convinced the "treasure" was worthless, if it existed at all, and that it will surely never be found, he calls in a psychiatrist to justify committing the old man. But when his sister discovers the plan, and his father confronts him over his disbelief, the colliding forces of devotion, doubt, and obsession shock these helpless mortals into a whole new realm.

Like many of his early works, this 1918 play heralds O'Neill's later themes and craft. Shamelessly melodramatic, with innocent victims, earnest heroes, and life or death stakes, the play also introduces the inter-generational conflicts, psychological fixations, and subtle understanding of the metaphysical workings of our imaginations that blossomed in his later masterpieces, including Desire Under the Elms to Long Day's Journey Into Night, to The Iceman Cometh.

Following the reading, a discussion that includes audience participation will be led by Alexander Pettit, Editor of the Eugene O'Neill Review, and University Distinguished Teaching Professor, as well as Affiliated Faculty in Women's and Gender Studies at the University of North Texas.

The reading will be directed by Frank Kuhn (Leah the Forsaken. The Drunkard). The cast includes Joe Candelora, Michael Hardart, John Ingle, Dena Miller, Julie Pham, with additional characters painted by artist Pamela Lawton.

DETAILS

Running Time: 30 minutes
Talkback to follow with Alexander Pettit, Editor of the Eugene O'Neill Review, including audience questions via Zoom and YouTube chat

Available via
Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88395846819
and
YouTube at https://youtu.be/sDY11ynh_X8

All links available at:
www.metropolitanplayhouse.org/virtualplayhouse

The program will also be simultaneously broadcast on
WBAI Radio 99.5 FM and wbai.org

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