MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN by Eugene O’Neill directed by Tony Lea February 10 – March 5

Deep Dish Theater Company to Open

CHAPEL HILL -- “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” one of Eugene O’Neill’s most heart-felt works, will be presented by Deep Dish Theater Company from Thursday, February 10, through Saturday, March 5. A boisterous and beautiful piece about the human struggle for redemption, the play is directed by Tony Lea.

Deep Dish is located in Chapel Hill’s University Mall, located on Estes Drive and US 15-501. Thursday through Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. There will also be a special early show at 7:30 on Wednesday, March 2. For reservations and information, call 968-1515.  Tickets for all performances are $14, $12 for seniors, and $10 for students.  Thursday, February 17 is “Cheap Dish Night,” when all tickets will be $5; no advance reservations will be taken for that performance. 

Audience discussions will follow the Sunday performances on February 13 (featuring a conversation with the production’s design team) and February 20 (led by Karen Blansfield of the UNC Dept. of Dramatic Art and including the actors and director).  The Deep Dish Book Selection for this production is “Atonement,” by Ian McEwan, and a discussion of the book, free and open to the public, will be led by Evelyn Daniel prior to the performance on Thursday, March 3.

“A Moon for the Misbegotten” is one of the last published works by O’Neill, one of this country’s premiere dramatists and the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.  An immigrant farm worker and his daughter (Tom Marriott and Helen Hagan), play host to their landlord, James Tyrone (John Allore), a bitter and disillusioned man who claims he’s ready to sell the farm out from under his tenants. In the course of one moonlit night, however, these troubled outcasts will wrestle with their demons and discover an opportunity for happiness that has for so long remained beyond their reach. Jeffrey Petrusha and Alex Wilson complete the cast.

Director Tony Lea has staged two earlier Deep Dish productions: “The Game of Love and Chance” and last season’s “Holiday.”  Most recently, he directed Tennessee Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth” for Raleigh’s Theatre in the Park.  The design team for “A Moon for the Misbegotten” includes Lien Van der Linde (sets), Annika Pfaender (costumes), Steve Tell (lights), and Devra Thomas (properties). Kit Wienert is composing original music for the production.  Ramona Traynor is the stage manager.

“For me,” says Lea, “the play is about grace; the ability of one human being to transcend his or her own fears and desires to perform an unselfish act for another.”  He adds that this is his favorite of O’Neill’s plays: “There is such vividness in the writing that it just explodes to life as the actors find real, human ways to relate to each other.”

For more information on Deep Dish Theater Company, call 968-1515.