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"I guess you^ get to sleep all right
A Book ofVerses underneath the Bough,
A jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread - and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness -
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise now!
-Omar Khayaam
Story by
Simon Kelly
! My/
m
"What's the
Boy? Haven't you
b ever kised like
that before?"
Are you exuberant, yet at your wit's end? Are you exhilarated, yet terrified by the thought
that everything you love will be wrenched asvay, perhaps by the ones that you love the most?
Are you, or have you ever been, a ly-year-old growing up in small town America?
If you ans^vered yes to any of these questions, then the Guilford College theatre studios
department's production of Eugene O'Neill's "Ah Wilderness," debuting this Friday, Nov. 9,
in Sternberger auditorium, should resonate for yt>u on some level.
The play, which derives its title from the lines excerpted from the Rubaiyat of Omar
Khayyam above, chronicles the experience of one New England family's Fourth of July ;n
1906, capturing O'Neill's rumination on his own youth and coming of age. Centering on the
hopes, fears, and romantic quandaries of the young Richard Miller, Ah Wilderness ^vill appeal
to anyone ^vho has ever felt suffocated by the banalities of middle class family life.
"It's a memory play, so we've made the production abstract, like a dream," said David
Hammond, the play's director and professor of theatre studies at Guilford and artistic director
emeritus of Playmakers Repertory Company at UNC Chapel Hill.
To contribute to this lucid dream aesthetic, the set is minimal, allowing the greatest empha
sis to be placed O'Neill's dialogue. While light-hearted and comedic in comparison to that of
his other more tragic works, it is also full of emotional poignancy.
"I've never seen anything that made me think more, or remember more about my ow'ii
childhood experience," said Derek Loehr, a senior theatre studies major who plays the role of
^ _ the father.
AVhile its themes of love, angst, and family tension would seem to place it in the category of
trivial melodrama, "Ah Wilderness" should not be dismissed as a nostalgic period piece.
"'Ah Wilderness' is full of sentiment but (is) not sentimental," Hammond said. "It is not
romanticized either, which is often the interpretation lent to this play."
W'ritten during one of the rare moments of bliss in O'Neill's life, who had rather n)ugh
family history himself. Ah Wilderness can be seen as a true departure from the usual themes
of despair and'disillusion in his previous works. O'Neill once described the play as "a sort >t
wishing out loud ... the way 1 would have liked my chilciln>od to have been."
" The brilliance of the play is that in the character of the father, everybody can find theic
father, and in the character of the mother, everyone finds their mother," Loehr said. "That is
\\ hy this play is so affecting and .so beautiful."
The entire cast is enthusiastic and invested in making this a memorable performance - for
them, opening night couldn't come any sooner.
IP "1 think the play is abiuit people connecting with one another," said Hannah Jeffrey, a .seni« >r
^ theatre studies major who al.so has a role in the play, "which is why people should take tin c
to support community theater,".
The Guilford C ollege playiTs are no amateurs on the stage; each character is rendered wi' li
tact anil insight, no matter how big or small.
In keeping with this spirit, when asked who the lead roles in the play were, Hammond
looked around the room and said, "Oh, they're pretty much all leads."
rickets are $5
Guilford students admitted for free
A'.
Center: Richard, played by-Scott Lyman, reaches for the moon while con
templating a turbulent evening.
i
Top Left: Young Tommy, attempts to convince his mother, Mrs. Miller (Allison
Martin) to let him stay up late for the Fourth of July festivities.
Left In the back room , of the disreputable Pleasant Beach House, Belle
(Jomdan Spoon) works her charms on the naive Richard (Scott Lyman).
Top Right: Mr Miller, played by Derek Loehr; delivers a forboding letting from
his son’s romantic interest
Middle Right Arthur, played by Jacob Martin, warns Uncle Sid (Ryan Fur
lough) to behave hornoably around Lily (Caitlin Allen).
Bottom Right Uncle Sid repents to Lily about his drunken misconduct.
' s -