The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 14, 1994 - 9 Soulful 'Journey into Night' By MELISSA ROSE BERNARDO It is said that after a good perfor- mance of "Long Day's Journey into Night," an audience should leave the theater completely exhausted. After watching three and a half hours of the Ong Day's Journey Into Night Tom Patterson Theater June 19, 1994 Tyrone family's soul searching, one should be almost as drained as the actors. Such is the case in the Stratford Festival's production of Eugene O'Neill' s autobiographical playwhich plunges the audience into a dark and draining journey into the soul of an American family. Critics and drama buffs love "Jour- ney" because of its autobiographical elements. It is the story of the playwright's own family: James Tyrone, a successful stage actor who has overcome an impoverished Irish upbringing; Mary Cavan Tyrone, his doting wife who aspired to be a nun and tnr1 pianist before falling in love s amthe elder son, also h younger son, a A baked newspaper re- porter. (O'Neill considered the play so personal that he forbade his wife to publish it until 25 years after his death; fortunately, she did not obey his wish.) But there is a darker side to this family, and it is this side which an obviously wounded O'Neill has given to us. Edmund is suffering from con- sumption; Jamie can't hold a job and wastes his money on whiskey and women; as a result of a past tragedy, Mary has become dependent on mor- phine. And poverty ingrained on his spirit, James refuses to spend the money to provide his family with any of the comforts ofhome. The play takes place in their summer residence, a cheaply built shack; it is nothing like the home Mary wants. The meat of the play is conversa- tion. Antagonism, guilt, anger, confu- sion, blame and insults fly from every- one to everyone else. Each character dedicates his/her time onstage to blam- ing someone else for the family's prob- lems. Most of this is done in a drunken oblivion, because in O'Neill plays the truth only surfaces when induced by whiskey. Because each of the characters has his/her fair share of problems, in order to give a production focus a director usually slants the story toward one or two characters. Typically, the play ei- ther belongs to Mary or to James Tyrone.(Sometimes, though not often, two very compatible actors can share the story as Jamie and Edmund.) Nestled in the intimacy of the Tom Patterson Theatre, director Diana LeBlanc has given this production to Martha Henry as Mary. Henry carries the immense weight of this production with astounding aplomb and courage. She makes a wonderfully subtle yet striking transformation after Mary's first morphine shot, and her ticks and obsessive movements - fixing her hair or rubbing her crippled hands - make her Mary positively entrancing. It should be noted, however, that Henry is not carrying the production for a lack of supporting talent; she is in the company of three very commend- able actors: Peter Donaldson, William Hutt and Tom McCamus. Hutt's work in the past 30 seasons at Stratford is evidence that he is fully capable of carrying the show as James Tyrone; here, however, he backs off (wisely) to Henry. And Tom McCamus is memo- rable in his Stratford debut as Edmund. Astrid Janson's set projects a very temporary feeling: the wicker furniture is flimsy, the cushions worn, the orien- tal rugs carefully mismatched. The cos- tumes are in subdued pastel tones, in appropriately rumpled linen and flow- ing cotton; the shoes are worn to the soles. Louise Guinand's lighting is soft and unobtrusive. Day lighting is fil- tered through two wings of dove-gray gauze, hovering over the stage omi- nously. This effect not only softens the light, but suggests the oppressive fog The weight of the Stratford Festival's production of "Long Day's Journey intoNight" rests on Martha Henry (right). which plagues this and so many other O'Neill dramas. { This play is long and exhausting, and O'Neill shows the frustrating futil- ity of that journey. Somehow you know that the Tyrones will take the same journey tomorrow, and the day after that. But the richness of the play and of this well-crafted production lies in the surrender: you have to allow yourself to be taken on this journey. And you learn to relish not the end result, but what happens along the way. LONG DA Y'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT runs in repertory through September 17 at the Tom Patterson Theatre in Stratford, Ontario. For tickets, accommodations or informa- tion about this or any other produc- tion, call the Stratford Festival Box Office at (519) 273-1600. RECORDS Continued from page 8 named after - slowly die from Alzheimer's disease. It's hard when someone you love doesn't know who you are. Her songs are so powerful, they will leave an everlasting imprint in your mind. I really can't express how great "From Years to Hours" is. You'll have to buy it to believe it. - Eugene Bowen Ladae The Moment PolyGram Records Ya know, I really hate to down a brotha, but I must be honest about Brian, Darren, Tone and Quent - the four members of Ladae. These guys stink, and this has absolutely nothing to do with their obviously poor name choice. It's not that they're voices are bad (not that they're good either), but these guys don't sing well together. Their voices clash worse than some profes- sors' clothes. Also, every song is the same - begging some girl to please take them back. Titles like "Be My Luv," "I Miss Your Lovin"' and "Bye Bye" speak for themselves. The beats are all faulty, the lyrics are wack and the singing ain't all that. I don't know who these guys had to sleep with in order to get a record contract, but they definitely worked their asses off (no pun intended). There's no use in reorganization; these guys have nothing to build on. All that can be said for "The Moment" is that the moment's over. As for Ladae, times up. -Eugene Bowen Nusrat Fateh All Khan Devotional and Love Songs Mustt Musit Real World According to Sufis, there are two kinds of grace: "Those with melodius voices and those endowed with the powerto appreciate them." NusratFateh Ali Khan, considered the greatest liv- ing singer of Qawwali, is certainly one of the former. His voice, elegant and rich, powerful and wide, frames the 10 numbers found on "Devotional and Love Songs." He is accompanied by an ensemble of other singers as well as harmonium, tabla and guitar. The first four songs are in praise of God, Mohammed, Ali and other Muslim saints. The last six deal with various forms of love, of women and departed friends. The title of "Woh Hata Rahe Hain Pardah," which means "She is boldly unveiling in front of everyone and I am cowardly concealing," alone speaks volumes while another track finds Kham lamenting "If you cannot remain before my eyes, please give back my heart." "Mustt Mustt," meanwhile, finds See RECORDS, Page 10 "6 stylists--NO Waiting! DASCOLA STYLISTS LIBERTY OFF STATE 668-9329 1 garnA~1W 001V0 Bd WodpIOC9S5-15BROTI incial Ai From Standard Fedr Bank Get a no-annual-fee VISAClassic Card and a low-cost Regular Checking Account including no per-check fees (and we even buy back your old checks*) with the University Program from Standard Federal. 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