Open to Public
Addiction Performance Project
Free Event
The Addiction Performance Project presents dramatic readings of Act Three of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night as a catalyst for guided audience discussions about substance abuse and addiction as they affect individuals, families, caregivers, and communities. O’Neill’s play depicts the struggles of Mary Tyrone, a woman who abuses prescription painkillers and relapses into full-blown morphine addiction, and the impact this has on her family. This unique participatory event is intended to break down the stigma associated with addiction and promote healthy dialogue among diverse communities - public and professional - fostering compassion, cooperation, understanding, and positive action.
Featuring performances by Maryann Plunkett (Little Women, The Squid and the Whale), Peter Frances James (The Rosa Parks Story, Godfather of Harlem), Michael Braugher (The Gilded Age, To Kill a Mockingbird), and Marjolaine Goldsmith (Dress).
Co-presented by Theater of War Productions, Bloomberg American Health Initiative at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Boston Public Health Commission, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, and Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture.
Adapted, directed, and facilitated by Bryan Doerries.
About the play
-
Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'neill
Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night depicts the struggles of Mary Tyrone, a woman who abuses prescription painkillers and relapses into full-blown morphine addiction. It is also the story of how Mary's addiction rips her family apart, as her morphine use slowly becomes apparent to her husband and two sons, who struggle with alcohol abuse and addiction. It is widely believed that Long Day's Journey into Night is an autobiographical play, and that the troubled characters in it are based on members of O'Neill's own family, including his mother, Ella, who struggled with morphine addiction for most of her life. In his dedication of the play to his wife Carlotta, O'Neill states that it is a "play of old sorrow, written in tears and blood," and that he wrote it "with deep pity and understanding and forgiveness for all the four haunted Tyrones." O'Neill wrote the play for personal reasons, and the Addiction Performance Project present the plays to diverse audiences to elicit personal responses and candid discussion about addiction.
Cast Members
-
Maryann Plunkett
-
Peter Francis James
-
Michael Braugher
-
Marjolaine Goldsmith
Explore Projects
-
War & Mental HealthThe Tecmessa ProjectThe Tecmessa Project presents readings of Sophocles’s Ajax, an ancient play about the visible and invisible wounds of war, as the catalyst for discussions focusing on the unique challenges faced by military family members, including couples, children, caregivers, and communities. This project is designed to promote understanding, compassion, and positive action.
-
Caregiving & DeathThe Susie King Taylor ProjectA dramatic reading of Susie King Taylor's memoir to help frame powerful, guided discussions about challenges faced by Nurses and Veterans.
-
Natural DisasterThe Tohoku ProjectThe Tohoku Project: Sumidagawa presents powerful dramatic readings by professional actors of Sumidagawa, a Noh play from the early 15th Century that timelessly depicts the unique challenges faced by parents in the wake of unimaginable disaster. Each reading is followed by the responses of community panelists, culminating in a lively, facilitated audience discussion. This interactive event promotes healthy, constructive dialogue about the lasting impact of the Tohoku disaster upon individuals, families, and communities—fostering compassion, understanding, awareness, and positive action.