When we think Eugene O'Neill, we think "long." When we think Samuel Beckett, we think "odd." Their respective one-act plays Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape, currently sharing the mainstage bill at Goodman, prove us wrong on both accounts. Though these two surprisingly accessible short pieces take two entirely different approaches in their exploration of loneliness and the inconsequential nature of life, the similarities are profound. Parallel conclusions are reinforced by contrasting, rich portrayals of the two main characters by one great actor, Brian Dennehy. more ›

Today marked the third and final performance of Greg Allen's take on the Eugene O'Neill epic Strange Interlude. We saw it last night and it was not your typical evening at the Goodman Theatre, involving as it did the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and a sex scene with a Cabbage Patch Kid. In true Neofuturist fashion, Allen's adaptation took the play completely apart and then put it back together in ways that a lot of audience members found shocking. In fact hecklers attempted to disrupt the first two performances, shouting "Why are you butchering this play?" and "You don't know how to do O'Neill!" Yet at the end of Saturday's show there was a standing ovation. more ›

The Wooster Group's production of Eugene O'Neill's 1920s play The Emperor Jones opened last night at the Goodman Theatre to a sold out crowd, despite the boycott initiated hours earlier by local publishing company and African-American activist group, Third World Press. The organization objects to the use of a white actress in blackface playing the leading role, which they believe mimics 19th century-style minstrelsy. more ›