Molina and Kaczmarek Take the Trip of Trauma in ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’

Aryeh Harris-Shapiro

L.A. theatergoers ready to experience three hours of familial suffering are in for a treat. Eugene O’Neill’s epic drama, “Long Day’s Journey into Night” is on its way to the Geffen Playhouse with a cast featuring screen and stage actor Alfred Molina alongside “Malcolm in the Middle” favorite Jane Kaczmarek.

Molina stars as James Tyrone, the father of a deteriorating Irish-American family on the precipice of financial hardship. James is a washed-up actor who sold out his skills and artistic integrity by playing one role for years and who now feels boxed in by his choices. Kaczmarek plays Mary Tyrone, the family’s morphine-addicted matriarch and one of the great female roles in the American canon. They’ll be joined by Stephen Louis Grush as Jamie, the family’s older son and a womanizing alcoholic, and Colin Woodell as Edmund, a sensitive world traveler whose cough may indicate something far worse at work within his body. Rounding out the cast is Angela Goethals as Cathleen, the family’s summer maid. The show is directed by Jeanie Hackett, whose credits include acting in a Broadway production of O’Neill’s “Ah, Wilderness” as Belle.

“Long Day’s Journey into Night” is famously a semi-autobiographical account of O’Neill’s own family. O’Neill himself did not want it published until 25 years after his death, and he never wanted it produced as a play. His third wife contravened his wishes, publishing the play soon after his death in 1956. This betrayal of his wishes ended up a boon for the theatrical world – “Long Day’s Journey into Night” is one of the great American epics, capturing the bitter wounds of its subjects powerfully and unflinchingly. Along with a Pulitzer, the Broadway premiere won the Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play. The play has been produced all over the world and remains a defining American masterpiece 60 years later.

“Long Day’s Journey into Night” is at the Geffen Playhouse Jan. 31 to March 18. Tickets are here.