Evening star., 1952-10-08

the playwright's venturesome
career.
Unfortunately, that is not the
case. Desire Under The Elms" in
this production is an absorbing
play, but not precisely in the most
f1attering sense of absorbing. {"
Ones attention is focused upon
the work more as an experiment
than as an arreSting revelation of
the grim drama and bitter pity
with which O'Neill viewed the lust
of Ephriam Cabot and his family.
AT least one spectator at last
nights opening performance
found himself with a number of
reservations. One of these is
whether O'Neill's several stimuli
taneous streams of action are suf-
11clently visible in the necessarily
cluttered production on Arenas
small stage. Another is whether
ONeill'S realism is altogether toll
cradle in such intimate relation
ship to the audience.
Add to these the TACT that he
wrote recklessly close to carrica-
ture. especially when played by
relatively inexperienced actors,
and this Desire Under The Elms"
earns an "A" for effort and
novelty more than for execution.
Director Alan Schneider and
Arenas mostly new company are
to be congratulated that score if
not on more flattering ones.
Desire Under The Elms'' is one
OF O'Neill'S most temptingly ex-I
presSive plays. In it. through the
avariciouS Cabots. the author ex-
presses a hunger for life that is
Unsuitable. Head of the house Isl
old Ephriam Cabot. At 76, he
drives himself. his sons and his
grudging New England acres to-
make the earth yield more of
life. Most of all, he wants to goI
on recreating Cabots. yearning
which inspires him to take a third
wife who is the age of his young
est and most rebellious son.
This is Ephriam's harshest test
of his tyrannical dominance of
the Cabot family. 1t is also the
one which brings his cruelty
wrought kingdom down about his
ears for the young wife and the
remorseleSs son pair off in the
way that life itself, not Ephriam,
dictates.
Arenas cast under Schneider'S
direction adheres closely to the
savagely twisting contours of de-
sire Under The Elms." 1t makes
no concession whatever to the
fact that distance-say that of
the conventional proscenium pro-
duction-might lend enchantmentI
to the uncompromising realism of
the play.
The Cabots' lust for life covers
virtually all of the basic lustS and
in the closeup of central staging
these are subject to distortions
that frequently are to the plays
disadvantage.
1t is in the nature of some
theatergoerS. or at least the re-
suit of their conditioning, that
they can view more comfortably
from a distance the paintings of
Abby and young Eben for each
other. Some sense of separation
from this affair at least permits
the pretense that one is watching
1t with no more than a studious
detachment.
But this is not possible I'M
Arenas production which opens
the five small rooms of the Cabot's
elm shaded farm directly into the
faces of the audience members.
O'Neill has imposed another
handicap upon Arena actors in
drawing his characters so dan
gerously close to carricature. Few
playwrights take such desperate
risk that = whole kit of his
creatures will be dismissed as|
insane. and in no O'Neill play isl
this hazard greater than in DE-
sire Under The Elms."
In every speech and act, there
are overtoneS of irrationality and
Arenas players are hard put to-