Last Chance: Connecticut Rep Clears Out Wilderness Dec. 13 One of the very few Eugene O'Neill comedies, Ah, Wilderness!, comes to a close at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Dec. 13.
On the Fourth of July in 1906, 17-year-old Richard Miller finds himself dumped by his girlfriend, witnessing yet another unsuccessful proposal by his Uncle Sid to his Aunt Lily, and learning lessons of life through his older brother's Yale classmate, who aims to teach Miller about the world via alcohol and loose women.
Written in 1933, Ah, Wilderness! was revived earlier this year on Broadway at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The only American known primarily as a playwright, to win the Nobel Prize, O'Neill is also the author of Long Day's Journey Into Night, Mourning Becomes Electra, Emperor Jones, Beyond The Horizon, and The Hairy Ape.
Brant Pope, artistic director of Asolo Theatre Company in Florida, directs Robert Vincent Smith (the York Theatre's The Show Goes On) as Nat Miller, John Felix as Sid Davis, Tricia Matthews as Essie Miller, Jeremiah W. Zinger as Richard Miller and Sinead Hollis as Lily Miller. Also in the cast are David Barus, Joe Beaudin, Matthew DeCapua, Jerry Stephen Krasser, Ann Mahoney, Bobby Moynihan, Jr., Christine Richards, Erika Thompson, David Barry and Justin Boudreau.
The design team includes Crystal Tiala (sets), Jayde Chabot (costumes), Christopher S. Chambers (lighting) and April L. LaBelle (sound). Tickets ($14-$12) are available by calling the box office at (860) 486 4226. The Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre is located on the University of Connecticut Storrs campus on Hillside Road.
-- By Sean McGrath and Christine Ehren
