Desire Under The Elms Ignites Broadway

By Christopher Moore, Broadway Magazine

Broadway welcomed back Eugene O'Neill this week with the official opening of Desire Under The Elms. Directed by Robert Falls, the steamy production stars Brian Dennehy, Pablo Schreiber, and Carla Gugino. Broadway.tv and Broadway Magazine were there on the opening night red carpet and after the performance to talk with this dynamic cast.

Broadway Show: Desire Under The Elms

"I love Eugene O'Neill because every time I see one of his plays, it makes me feel like my family's functional," quips Mo Rocca on the red carpet.

"It's a great cast. I'm looking forward to see what they're going to do with this play... it's just such a hot, sexy play," smiles actress and producer Tamara Tunie as she heads into the show. Walking the opening night red carper were Stephanie March, Scott Cohen, Hope Davis, Jennifer Westfeldt, and Zachary Quinto, among others.

"I can't believe I'm in this neighborhood on my night off, but I really want to see this show," says God of Carnage star Hope Davis, who's production is playing near by. Ms. Davis no doubt enjoyed the experience. See the opening night ovations as the cast takes their bows on the rocky set.

After the show, the stars gathered to celebrate the official opening night. Our Broadway video team was there to talk with the stars of the show.

"It's early O'Neill, I’m not sure what the reaction is going to be," confesses Tony Winning star Brian Dennehy to Broadway.tv, "It's not an easy play to do, and it's not an easy play to watch. But, if you're interested in serious American drama, especially the history of it, it's worth seeing. Powerful stuff. O'Neill holds your feet to the fire."

The opening night reviews for Robert Fall's production confirmed O'Neill's reputation as an incendiary playwright capable of challenging and unsettling an audience. Long considered America's greatest playwright, this production embraces O'Neill's Broadway legacy as a revolutionary artist.

"I read the script and I was blown away. I was amazed at the depth and the intensity of it, and I was petrified by what it might take to perform it. So , I decided that I had to do it, because I didn't see how I could," shares Pablo Schreiber, who first performed Desire Under The Elms in Chicago. O'Neill actually based Desire Under The Elms on one of his earlier short plays called Rope.

"It's straightforward passion, and emotion, and violence," Mr. Dennehy describes.

"My connection with Carla in this show is probably the most complete experience I've ever had with another actor," Mr. Schreiber says in thinking about his co-star Carla Gugino.

"We were really simpatico from the very beginning," agrees Ms. Gugino, " ... we also have a very similar... desire, no pun intended, to jump in full force and try anything."

The passionate story of a patriarch who returns home with a young bride, and the passionate affair that follows requires some nudity in the production. Was that difficult for the actors?

"The nudity? Oh, the nudity is the easy part, man," shrugs Mr. Schreiber, "The nudity is no problem. Emotional nudity is a lot harder than physical nudity."

"With this role in particular, with everything in this piece, there is no half-way," confides Ms. Gugino, " I did say to Bob (director Robert Falls) at the very beginning, '...I'm going to jump off a cliff, I'm going to bare my soul, and if it’s too much let me know. You're going to have to pull me back, because I can't be the one to judge that.'"

"It's worth doing. It's worth seeing. It's worth being a part of, and I’m glad I did it," reflects Brian Dennehy. We are glad they all did it too!

See more Broadway video coverage of Desire Under The Elms opening night, right here on Broadway.tv.