Think you know every play in O'Neill's body of work? Think again. On Aug. 4, the Playwrights Theater of New York, working out of Greenwich Village's historic Provincetown Playhouse, will stage The Personal Equation. Ralph Waite and Daniel McDonald will star.
The Personal Equation was written by O'Neill while he was still a student at Harvard University. He put the play in his drawer, however, and it was never mounted during his lifetime.
The drama takes place on the eve of World War I, as a group of ship workers are deciding whether to join the fight and rally to a growing anarchist movement. Waite and McDonald play a father and son at odds over the decision.
McDonald starred in Steel Pier and High Society on Broadway. Waite originated the role of the father in Horton Foote's The Young Man from Atlanta.
The summer marks the third year the Playwrights Theater has set up shop in the Provincetown Playhouse, which is owned and was restored by New York University. The company's exploration of the work of O'Neill is expected to last another ten years. Performances are free. The Playhouse is at 133 MacDougal St. For reservations, call (212) 998-5801.
--By Robert Simonson