Rusty Wilson was 17 years old when he first saw Eugene O’Neill’s landmark drama Long Day’s Journey Into Night with his father. The teen was blown away.
“This play made me feel seen and affirmed as a young man dealing with my own family trauma. It’s what made me pursue theatre as a profession,” says Wilson, who is directing Cadence’s performance of the drama, running through October 11th at the Carol Piersol Stage at Firehouse Theatre.
The play, set over a single summer day in 1912, brings the audience into the world of the Tyrone family – a family haunted by addiction, illness, and unspoken resentments. Written with honesty and drawn from O’Neill’s own life, this Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award–winning work remains as raw, relevant, and heartbreaking today as when it first premiered.
As a director, Wilson says he has always been drawn to great playwrights and the stories they tell, particularly American stories. “I have been lucky enough to direct several. I love a challenge, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night is perhaps the most challenging so far,” he says, adding, “The challenge is where the fun is.”
The play’s universal appeal and timeless nature are two aspects that are so important in Wilson’s eyes. “It is O’Neill at the height of his artistic powers. It is the best of him. It is a play filled with love, blood and generosity. It is quintessentially human,” he says.
Wilson is no stranger to the issues presented in this play. “It is a family reckoning in one day. I think we all process our personal challenges through the art we seek out and engage in. In the end, it’s been a healing process for me,” he says.
Casting any play is a difficult process because it is so important to the production, and this one was no different. Wilson admits he was fearful of not being able to cast the play well. But that fear has subsided with the cast he chose. “I am blessed to have the most generous, loving, talented cast I could hope for . . . I couldn’t be more pleased with the Tyrone family in this production,” Wilson says.
One of the main actors he cast was Matthew Radford Davies as James Tyrone Sr. Redford was honored to be given the opportunity. “I was drawn to the largeness and largesse of this mighty, complex, problematic patriarch,” he says. “Like Shakespeare’s King Lear, Tyrone is one of those roles senior actors measure themselves by.” Davis, who lives in Staunton and teaches in the Mary Baldwin University Shakespeare and Performance graduate program in partnerships with the American Shakespeare Center, admits he faced some challenges with the role. “The sheer line load is intimidating, with only five characters commanding the stage for three and a half hours. Since all those characters suffer from various forms of addiction, repetitive dialogue interspersed with long, rambling monologues is a critical feature of O’Neill’s dramaturgy,” he says. “It’s mighty hard to learn.”
Davis commuted from Staunton during the five weeks of rehearsals. “While I’m slightly younger than the 65-year-old Tyrone, commuting has more than made up for any age disparity. I now feel as fully old as the character,” he jokes.
Both Davis and Wilson hope audiences will remember the family bond and the pertinence of the play long after they leave the theatre. “Although the Tyrones are locked in cycles of blame and disillusionment, they remain as tightly bound together as their Irish roots,” says Davis. “Their love for each other seeps through their recriminations as copiously as the whiskey that flows from their bottles of bourbon.”
Wilson would like to have audiences walk away with a “deeper sense of empathy for themselves, their families and all humans. It’s a play about forgiveness, and we can all benefit from being reminded of that. The takeaway might be, walk for a while in someone else’s shoes before judging.”
The play might very well be the most difficult play that Wilson has directed for a variety of reasons, he adds. “The gratification for me is twofold: the process of creation and telling a good story well.”
This production is dedicated to the memory of Carol Piersol, the beloved Founding Artistic Director of Firehouse.
Cadence is proud to partner with CultureWorks on artoberVA 2025 and will offer a pay-what-you-will performance on Thursday, October 2.
There will be two ten-minute intermissions.
Due to the length of this show, parking at Lowe’s across the street from Firehouse Theatre will not be available. Please visit firehousetheatre.org for a list of additional parking options before you arrive. Thank you for planning ahead—we look forward to seeing you at the theatre!
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.
