Eugene O’Neill’s poetic masterpiece won him his second Pulitzer Prize. ANNA CHRISTIE is a gripping account of the relationship between an old sailor and the daughter he hasn’t seen in almost twenty years. Their new bond becomes strained when she falls in love with a young man whose seafaring life isn’t what her father wants for her. When Anna reveals to both men the shameful secret she has been harboring, they come to understand the harsh reality of her past and show her compassion, love and forgiveness.
Kail tries many things to make this mess of performance feel like a dynamic piece of art. Actors (rather needlessly) rearrange sets between scenes, overlong transitions that are scored by original compositions from Nicholas Britell (who, among other things, wrote the theme to Succession). There are some trust falls, a fog machine is frequently employed (as fog is a heavy motif in O’Neill’s text), a great metal beam spins ominously over the proceedings. But it’s all adornment of a sinking ship, a production that seems to have no concrete or compelling stance on what forces have sent these people crashing into one another.
Without the help of stronger production elements to deepen Anna’s story, the scenic design can only go so far, as the plot about a struggle for redemption by men is a struggle to invest in. In 2025, a woman conforming to societal expectations and suffering shame for sex work feels discouraging, partly because we’re still living in a world where women lack liberation.
| 1921 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 1952 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 1977 | Broadway |
Broadway |
| 1993 | Broadway |
Roundabout Revival Broadway |
| 2011 | West End |
Donmar Warehouse Revival West End |
| 2025 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
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