Long Journey From Down Under
July 22nd, 2010 | Published in Arts
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| Allen Nause, producing artistic director of the Artists Repertory Theatre, said his longtime friend William Hurt was destined to play the lead role in Eugene O’Neill’s haunting autobiographical drama. Photo: Dustin Eppers/EnzymePDX |
Allen Nause, producing artistic director of Artists Repertory Theatre, was still fighting jetlag after his grueling flight back from Sydney, where he had attended every one of the rehearsals and opening night of “A Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” The co-production with Australia’s Sydney Theatre Company is winding up its run with William Hurt and other outstanding multinational actors and is due to arrive for a run in Portland the second week of August.
What was memorable down under? The coffee.
“There were four different kinds of coffee drinks,” he explained sleepily. “They take coffee very seriously there and it’s unfiltered, not like here.”
He was also astonished by the eclectic population and crowded streets teeming with shoppers apparently unaffected by a dismal economy. In other words, he loved exploring every nook and cranny of the diverse metropolis and reveled in the warmth of the locals.
When it came to describing his feelings about the groundbreaking play he flew there to watch unfold, Nause chose his words with great thought.
“No one knew how it would be accepted, and it was amazing to me how it engaged the audience so much,” Nause said. “It’s a long play but it doesn’t seem long. It’s just actors doing super work.”
Amazed the entire run was sold out in Sydney, Nause is hopeful that Portlanders, too, will appreciate the quality of the production just as thoroughly.
And when it came to discussing his longtime friend Hurt, Nause had nothing but wide-eyed praise, as he did for the cast and crew members, including the co-artistic directors Andrew Upton and his wife, the actress Cate Blanchett.
As far as Nause is concerned, Hurt was destined to play the lead role in Eugene O’Neill’s haunting autobiographical drama, “A Long Day’s Journey Into Night.” Decades earlier, when Nause and Hurt were relative newcomers, Hurt had already achieved acclaim portraying Edmund Tyrone, the younger son in the family that put the “T” in tragic. Even then, said Nause, Hurt had his sights on the role of the father.
Hurt will command the Portland stage Aug. 13-29 at the Newmark Theatre as patriarch James Tyrone. The co-production also features a member of the Artists Repertory Theatre resident company, Todd Van Voris.
Nause, the repertory theater’s producing artistic director, became friends with Hurt in 1975 when “Long Day’s Journey” was performed during Oregon’s Shakespeare Festival. When the opportunity arose to bring the American classic to Portland, Hurt swiftly contacted Nause.
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