Milwaukee Chamber Theatre brings to the stage rare revival of Eugene O’Neill masterpiece, A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN

MILWAUKEE, WI – January 3, 2024 – Milwaukee Chamber Theatre is proud to present—in its first local professional production since 1995—Eugene O’Neill’s A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN at the Studio Theatre in the Broadway Theatre Center, January 19 – February 4, 2024. Tickets can be purchased online at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/moon or by calling the box office at 414-291-7800 (M-F, 12-6 pm).

O’Neill’s tragicomic romantic masterpiece brings failed actor James Tyrone, Jr. back to the home of salty Irish hardscrabble farmer Phil Hogan and his rough and tumble daughter, Josie. As Josie and Jim strive to connect across years and heartbreaks, the comedy gradually gives way to one final desperate attempt to find peace and love.

With MCT favorites Kelly Doherty (MISERY, A LOVELY SUNDAY FOR CREVE COUER) and James Pickering (INDECENT, LOVE STORIES) in roles they were born to play—the iconic characters of Josie Hogan and Phil Hogan, respectively—A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN will also feature the MCT debut of La Shawn Banks (American Players Theatre, Steppenwolf Theater) in the role of James Tyrone, Jr. Also making his MCT debut is A.J. Magoon in the role of Mike Hogan, and Zachary Thomas Woods (GREAT EXPECTATIONS) rounds out the cast in the role of T. Steadman Harder, the Hogans’ rich and highly disliked neighbor. The show will be directed by MCT veteran Mary MacDonald Kerr (CHRISTMAS IN BABYLON, THE FEW).

“A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN was the first title that I committed to producing in my first season as MCT’s Artistic Director in 2020,” said Brent Hazelton. “While it took a few years to re-align the stars to produce it, it’s never been out of our minds, and I’m thrilled to finally be able to share this long-dreamed production with Milwaukee audiences. It’s a terrific example—along with last season’s WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?—of how we want to approach classics at MCT: in fresh revivals of groundbreaking scripts that feature some of the best of our local theater makers measuring themselves against once-in-a-lifetime roles and proving that Milwaukee’s artists are second to none.”

A legend in American and world theater, Eugene Gladstone O’Neill was the first American playwright to win a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936, and he is the only playwright to win four Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. However, A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN was initially regarded as a failure, as neither its 1947 premiere nor first Broadway production in 1957 met with success.

“Early producers were not brave enough to cast an actress that was physically what O’Neill calls for—a tall, large, strong woman as opposed to a dainty ingenue,” said Kerr. “It wasn’t until Colleen Dewhurst played Josie in 1973—sadly twenty years after O’Neill’s death—that a production was considered truly successful, running for 313 performances, receiving numerous Tony Award nominations, and being captured in a 1975 film. The last surviving play that O’Neill wrote, A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN is now rightfully regarded as one of his finest, a masterpiece from one of America’s greatest theater writers. Directing it is a dream come true—particularly with this fantastic cast and design team. I hope it will be a gift to Milwaukee theater audiences.”

A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN will be designed and created by Olivia Bastien* (Properties Designer), Christopher Elst* (Fight Choreographer), KaiLee Evans* (Intimacy Director), Adam Hastings* (Technical Director and Scenic Builder), Raileen McMillion* (Dialect Coach), Jayne Regan Pink (Movement Coach), Lisa Schlenker* (Scenic Designer), Josh Schmidt* (Sound Designer), Noele Stollmack* (Lighting Designer), Lauren Marie Stoner* (Wardrobe), Beck Trumbull (Assistant Stage Manager), Emily Marie Wilke* (Stage Manager), and Trinae Williams-Henning* (Costume Designer).

The cast includes La Shawn Banks (James Tyrone, Jr.), Kelly Doherty* (Josie Hogan), A.J. Magoon* (Mike Hogan), James Pickering* (Phil Hogan), and Zachary Thomas Woods* (T. Steadman Harder).

*Denotes Wisconsin artist

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s production of A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN is presented by Dwight and Marleen Morgan. It is sponsored by Executive Producers Mike Reavis, Frank and Marina Krejci and Producers Chris and Judi Collins, Julie Anding and Lisa Kornetsky, and Sandy Zingler. Additionally, MCT is proud to partner with Milwaukee Public Library and Celtic MKE on the production.

A MOON FOR THE MISGBEOTTEN is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com

PERFORMANCE AND TICKET INFORMATION

A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN runs from January 19 through February 4 at the Studio Theatre inside the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, Milwaukee, WI 53202.

• Preview – Friday, January 19 at 7:30 pm
• Opening Night – Saturday, January 20 at 8 pm
• Pay-what-you-choose – Monday, January 22 at 7:30 pm
• Talkbacks – Thursdays, January 25 and February 1, following the 7:30 pm performances
• SipStudio – Saturday, January 27, featuring complimentary drinks between the matinee and evening performances provided by Thelma Carol Wine Merchants with live Irish music, open to attendees of both shows that day (3 pm and 8 pm)
• ASL-Interpretation – Friday, February 2 at 7:30 pm

Tickets can be purchased by phone at 414-291-7800 (M-F, 12-6 pm) or online at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/moon. Three-Play subscription packages are also still available; learn more at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/subscriptions or by calling 414-276-8842 ext. 7.

Throughout the run of A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre will continue raising funds for its FourOneFourward Institutional Sustainability Campaign. MCT has currently raised $1.5M in three-year gifts of their $1.8M goal.

Launched during the 22-23 season, this campaign will create a stable foundation from which MCT can reorganize its operations and build an economic structure suited to post-pandemic operations. “We’re hungry to continue MCT’s five-decade priority of strengthening Milwaukee’s professional artist community while we ensure that we can sustain that effort for another fifty seasons,” said MCT Board of Trustees President Jason Rae.

FourOneFourward Sustainability Campaign gifts can be made by visiting www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org/sustainability or by calling 414.276.8842 ext. 5.

ABOUT MILWAUKEE CHAMBER THEATRE

Founded in 1975 by Montgomery Davis and Ruth Schudson, guided until 2020 by Michael Wright and Kirsten Finn, and now led by Brent Hazelton, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (MCT) partners with other arts organizations, community-based organizations, and universities to produce thought-provoking productions and innovative outreach programs on an intimate, human scale. As part of its five-decade commitment to strengthening Milwaukee and Wisconsin’s local artist community, MCT provides regular employment and a stable artistic home to professional artists through a five-play subscription series, the Young Playwrights Festival (YPF), and the Montgomery Davis Play Development Series (MDPDS).

MCT performs at the Broadway Theatre Center in Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward and is a proud Member Group of the United Performing Arts Fund. For more information, to purchase tickets, or to make a donation please visit milwaukeechambertheatre.org.

MCT recognizes that when we gather at the BTC, we do so on traditional homeland of the Kickapoo, Menominee, Peoria, Potawatomi, Miami, and Lakota people, and that we serve a community where members of Wisconsin’s sovereign Miami, Anishinabe, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Oneida, and Mohican nations remain present.

MCT welcomes people of all races, all religions, all genders, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, and all abilities. We stand with all those who feel unheard or silenced, and we will ensure this is a safe place for all who enter.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.