As a new production of Eugene O’Neill’s 1956 classic opens in the West End (featuring Brian Cox, Patricia Clarkson, Daryl McCormack and Laurie Kynaston), obtaining mostly 3* and 4* reviews from critics (read my own review on BroadwayWorld UK) we look back at previous stage and screen versions.
2018, Wyndhams. This remains my favourite version because of Lesley Manville’s performance as Mary, a truly tragic Americana belle who has been destroyed by dope. She was fierce in the role, and her Mary was not just fragile in denial of her addiction but downright deceitful. Jeremy Irons as Tyrone was just a shadow in her sunset. Rory Keenan and Matthew Beard played the sons, for some reason Keenan’s Jamie registering far more strongly with me. Read my full review here.
2012, Apollo. David Suchet and Laurie Metcalf played the Tyrones in this powerful version which felt relevant and contemporary. Kyle Soller stood out as the consumptive younger son Edmund, although Metcalf didn’t have much rapport with him. Suchet brought a sense of humour to what is often a role of despair and darkness. As for Trevor White, I found his Jamie tedious. I saw this production just before it came into the West End, when it stopped off at Richmond. Read my full review here.
1962 film. The Hollywood version, just six years after the play was originally published and produced on stage. Sidney Lumet came on board to direct for Embassy Pictures. Jason Robards continued a long association with O’Neill when he joined the cast from the stage, alongside Ralph Richardson’s Tyrone, Katharine Hepburn’s Mary, and Dean Stockwell’s Edmund. Interestingly the part of Jamie, played by Robards, was originally offered to Marlon Brando. It is a great piece of stage to screen drama and still probably the best version to start with, with very minor changes to the play as written.
1973 TV film. Made for ITV’s Sunday Night Theatre anthology, this is a version of the National Theatre’s 1971 production of the play, and the closest you will find to a genuine theatrical experience of fifty years past. Laurence Olivier is Tyrone, with Constance Cummings as Mary, both superb. Cummings offers a delicacy missing from Hepburn’s starry and studied turn. Denis Quilley is an excellent Jamie while Ronald Pickup is an interesting and weak Edmund.
1982 TV film. This all-black version of the play from ABC is one I haven’t yet seen. With Ruby Dee cast as the morphine afflicted mother it should be worth more than a quick look.
1987 TV film. Jonathan Miller directed this one, based on the 1986 Broadway production, which gave Jack Lemmon a chance to flex his dramatic muscle as Tyrone. It’s a portrayal which gives considerable background to the alcoholic actor. Bethel Leslie’s Mary is rarely mentioned, but should be, while Peter Gallagher does well as the youngest son. Kevin Spacey’s Jamie is a curious watch now, but an intriguing one.
1996 film. This Canadian production was directed by David Wellington, with the same cast as the stage production from the Stratford Festival. This was aired on PBS in the USA and had very little changes made for the filmed version. William Hutt’s Tyrone is traditional, while Martha Henry’s Mary captures a quiet fragility in the fog she lives within. Peter Donaldson’s Jamie is a tough cookie who shows love, nevertheless, for ailing brother Edmund (Tom McCamus).
2017 Geffen Playhouse. A filmed version of the production which ran on stage Jan-Mar 2017. Alfred Molina is a rather bullish Tyrone, with no real chemistry with the Mary of Jane Kaczmarek (known more as a comedy player, she is an unconventional actor for the role but a refreshing one if you want to see something a little different). Colin Woodell’s Edmund is very good, but Stephen Louis Grush feels more suited to Edmund than Jamie. You can find this version on BroadwayHD.
2018 Stratford Festival. From May-Oct 2018, this studio production brought a new fire to the play, which was filmed and streamed free on YouTube during the pandemic. Scott Wentworth and Seena McKenna were the parents, with Gordon S Miller and Charlie Galliant the sons. Rather theatrical but this was an enjoyable watch and full of longing and heartbreak.