Desire Under the Elms (1924), a drama by Eugene O'Neill. [Greenwich Village Theatre, 208 perf.] Ephraim Cabot (Walter Huston), unsparing and miserly, works the New England farm he inherited from his second wife with the help of his three sons. The youngest, Eben (Charles Ellis), blames his father for his mother's death, insisting he killed her with overwork. Eben's older half‐brothers, Simeon (Allen Nagle) and Peter (Perry Ivins), long for a better life in California. When the seventy‐five‐year‐old Ephraim appears with his third wife, an ambitious young widow, Abbie Putnam (Mary Morris), the older boys sell their shares to Eben and head for the gold fields. Abbie seduces Eben, and when their child is born, Ephraim, believing the child his, makes the baby his heir. Eben denounces Abbie, but she has come to love him. To prove her love, she kills the baby. Eben calls the police, but recognizing that he, in turn, has come to love Abbie, claims he assisted in the killing. Ephraim prepares to tend the farm alone as the young couple are taken away. Stark Young saw the work's similarity to Beyond the Horizon but judged it “better written throughout; it has as much tragic gloom and irony, but a more mature conception and a more imaginative austerity.” When the play was moved uptown it was not particularly successful until the police attempted to close it. The notoriety helped the play achieve an acceptable run. An
Desire Under the Elms
| American Theater Guide: Desire Under the Elms |
| Wikipedia: Desire Under the Elms |
Desire Under the Elms is a play by Eugene O'Neill, published in 1924, and is now considered an American classic. Along with Mourning Becomes Electra, it represents one of O'Neill's attempts to place plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy in a rural New England setting. A film version was produced in 1958, and there is an operatic setting by Edward Thomas.
Contents |
Characters
Ephraim Cabot
- Simeon
- Peter - his sons
- Eben
Abbie Putnam
Young Girl, Two Farmers, The Fiddler, A Sheriff, and other folk from the neighboring farms
Synopsis
Widower Ephraim Cabot abandons his New England farm to his three sons, who hate him but share his greed. Eben, the youngest and brightest sibling, feels the farm is his birthright, as it originally belonged to his mother. He buys out his half-brothers' shares of the farm with money stolen from his father, and Peter and Simeon head off to California to seek their fortune. Later, Ephraim returns with a new wife, the beautiful and headstrong Anna, who enters into an adulterous affair with Eben. Soon after, Anna bears Eben's child, but lets Ephraim believe that the child is his, in the hopes of securing her future with the farm. The proud Ephraim is oblivious as his neighbors openly mock him as a cuckold. Madly in love with Eben and fearful it would become an obstacle to their relationship, Anna kills the infant. An enraged and distraught Eben turns Anna over to the sheriff, but not before admitting to himself the depths of his love for her and thus confessing his own role in the infanticide.
Major productions
Broadway (1952) - Directed by Harold Clurman, produced by The American National Theater and Academy. Starring Douglass Watson as Eben Cabot and Carol Stone as Abbie Putnam, 46 performances.
Asmita Theatre (India, 1995) - Directed by Arvind Gaur, translated by Nadira Babbar, starring Deepak Dobriyal, Manu Rishi, Deepak Ochani and Arachana Shintre Joshii, 14 performances.
Goodman Theatre (Chicago, 2009) - Directed by Robert Falls, starring Brian Dennehy as Ephraim Cabot, Carla Gugino as Abbie Putnam and Pablo Schreiber as Eben Cabot
Broadway (2009) - Transfer of the Goodman run; at the St. James Theatre. Previews began April 14, 2009; opened April 27 and closed May 24.
External links
- Desire Under the Elms at the Internet Broadway Database
- Desire Under the Elms (1952 Revival) at the Internet Broadway Database
References
- http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks04/0400081h.html - The Play, Desire Under The Elms from Project Gutenberg of Australia.
- http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/oneill.htm - "Eugene (Gladstone) O'Neill (1888-1953)". Taken from Authors Calendar written by Petri Liukkonen.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
 | Joe Masteroff (literature) |
| Edward Thomas: Desire under the Elms (Classical Album) |
| Perry Ivins (Actor, Drama/Crime) |
 | What are the main themes in Desire Under the Elms? |
| The use of symbols in the play Desire Under Elms? |
| Abbie putnam's character as described in play desire under the elms? |
Copyrights:
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 | American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Desire Under the Elms". Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Joe Masteroff (literature)
- Edward Thomas: Desire under the Elms (Classical Album)
- Perry Ivins (Actor, Drama/Crime)
- Don Hartman (Writer, Director, Comedy/Romance)
- Oyun La Tanam (1981 Film)
- Colleen Dewhurst (American Theater)
- Walter Huston (American theater)
- George Campbell Scott (American Theater)
- Rip Torn (American theater)
- Burl Ives (Actor, Drama/Children's/Family)
- Victor Kilian (Actor, Drama/Western)
- All God's Chillun Got Wings (American Theater)
- Robert Edmond Jones (American Theater)
- Kenneth Macgowan (American Theater)
