Wednesday, March 27th

Thirst – thematic issues in the text and in production 

Assignment for Wednesday, March 27th

Read  "Thirst (2023): My Journey Into Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night" by Ronan Noone, published by New Hibernia Review 27:3, Fall 2023 (click here or below).

Join the Lyric Stage talkback with the playwright Ronan Noone, O'Neill scholar Beth Wynstra, and me on Monday, March 25th, from 6:00 to 7:00 pm on Zoom. To receive the Zoom link, you have to RSVP to Director of Marketing Heather Darrow at heather_darrow@lyricstage.com by Monday morning, March 25th. 

Read the reviews of the production listed below (links provided).

REVIEWS

The Boston Globe: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/03/04/arts/lyric-stage-ronan-noone-thirst/

WBUR: https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/02/27/thirst-lyric-stage-company-review

the arts fuse: https://artsfuse.org/288052/theater-review-thirst-in-the-shadow-of-greatness/

Theater Mirror: https://www.theatermirror.net/?p=7244

Harvard Crimson: https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/3/5/thirst-boston-lyric-stage-company-boston-theater/

Broadway World: https://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/Review-The-Lyric-Stage-Company-Of-Boston-Presents-A-First-Rate-Production-of-THIRST-20240304

METRMAG: https://www.metrmag.com/latest-reviews/thirst-by-ron%C3%A1n-noone-lyric-stage-company-boston-ma-review

MYSouthEnd.com: http://www.mysouthend.com/arts//331889

Reflection Prompts

1. What, if any, new perspectives did you gain about either Long Day's Journey Into Night or Thirst from watching the Zoom talkback with

 Ronan Noone on Monday evening?

2. What evidence do you see in Thirst of what Noone, in his essay, calls the "two world perspective" of immigrants? What evidence did you

 see in the Lyric Stage production of an awareness of this perspective? How important is it to the impact of Thirst?

3. "Thirst is a probing and finely wrought if sometimes overly slow-paced drama. Its shift in perspective, from haves to have-nots, underscores

 the self-absorption and self-indulgence of the Tyrones, giving the play something of a political edge." Boston Globe

What evidence do you see in the play and/or the production of this critic's claim that the play has a "political edge"? 

4. "The production has several involving sections, particularly when Noone digs more deeply into the characters. But the weight of the

masterpiece on the other side of the kitchen door is ever-present and it casts a smothering shadow on this lighter drama. Despite the

script’s earnest efforts to illuminate the hopes and hopelessness of early 20th-century immigrants (and a broken local who loves one of

them), Thirst often comes off as a dutiful academic exercise."  the arts fuse

Even if you find the assessment of Thirst as a "dutiful academic exercise" rather harsh, is there anything in the spirit of this 

   assessment with which you agree?

5. "Ronán Noone, the playwright for Thirst, leaves out a big climatic event and leans on the lives of the trio with their disappointments and

 deep desire for change to spur the development of their characters and move the narrative along. Over time, it becomes clear that the

 characters are thirsty for many things. They desire love, freedom, the ability to achieve their dreams on their own terms, and even

 redemption."  WBUR

"The ending isn’t neat, or happy, or even entirely satisfying. But perhaps satisfaction is withheld with an artful deliberateness. The play is

real and raw, aptly leaving audiences with what its title promises: a lingering sense of unquenched thirst."  The Harvard Crimson

Both of these critics consider the meaning of the play's title. Which meaning(s) resonate(s) most for you? Do you see any others? What

  aspects of the play and/or the production evoke the implications of the title "Thirst" for you? Do you agree with the Crimson critic's

  assessment of the ending?

6. Are there any other comments in the reviews that you consider especially insightful or that influenced your own perceptions of the production and/or the play for better or worse?