Strange Interlude
Encyclopedia
Strange Interlude is an experimental play by American playwright Eugene O'Neill
. O'Neill finished the play in 1923, but it was not produced on Broadway until 1928, when it won the Pulitzer Prize
for Drama. Lynn Fontanne
originated the central role of Nina Leeds on Broadway. It was also produced in London at the Lyric Theatre
in 1931.
Because of its length, over four hours, the play has sometimes been produced with a dinner break or on consecutive evenings. The play's subject matter, very controversial for the 1920s, led to it being censored or banned in many cities outside New York.
Strange Interlude is one of the few modern plays to make extensive use of a soliloquy
technique, in which the characters speak their inner thoughts to the audience. Some productions have had the actors carry masks to distinguish their spoken dialogue from their soliloquies, although most productions allow the distinction to be made through acting style alone. The soliloquies in Strange Interlude mostly take the form of relatively brief side comments, not of lengthy speeches in the Shakespearean manner.
The meaning of the title is suggested by the aging Nina in a speech near the end of the play: "Our lives are strange dark interludes in the electrical display of God the Father!"
, which starred Norma Shearer
as Nina Leeds and Clark Gable
as Ned Darrell, was a shortened and toned-down version of the play. Voiceovers were used for the soliloquies.
The 1988 television version directed by Herbert Wise
was based on a 1985 London stage revival and starred Glenda Jackson
as Nina and David Dukes
as Ned (with Kenneth Branagh
in the small part of Gordon Evans). This version follows O'Neill's original text fairly closely, and allows the actors to speak their soliloquies naturally in the manner of the stage production.
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
. O'Neill finished the play in 1923, but it was not produced on Broadway until 1928, when it won the Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Drama. Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne was a British actress and major stage star in the United States for over 40 years. She teamed with her husband Alfred Lunt.She lived in the United States for more than 60 years but never relinquished her British citizenship. Lunt and Fontanne shared a special Tony Award in 1970...
originated the central role of Nina Leeds on Broadway. It was also produced in London at the Lyric Theatre
Lyric Theatre (London)
The Lyric Theatre is a West End theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster.Designed by architect C. J. Phipps, it was built by producer Henry Leslie with profits from the Alfred Cellier and B. C. Stephenson hit, Dorothy, which he transferred from the Prince of Wales Theatre to open...
in 1931.
Because of its length, over four hours, the play has sometimes been produced with a dinner break or on consecutive evenings. The play's subject matter, very controversial for the 1920s, led to it being censored or banned in many cities outside New York.
Strange Interlude is one of the few modern plays to make extensive use of a soliloquy
Soliloquy
A soliloquy is a device often used in drama whereby a character relates his or her thoughts and feelings to him/herself and to the audience without addressing any of the other characters, and is delivered often when they are alone or think they are alone. Soliloquy is distinct from monologue and...
technique, in which the characters speak their inner thoughts to the audience. Some productions have had the actors carry masks to distinguish their spoken dialogue from their soliloquies, although most productions allow the distinction to be made through acting style alone. The soliloquies in Strange Interlude mostly take the form of relatively brief side comments, not of lengthy speeches in the Shakespearean manner.
Plot summary
The plot centers on Nina Leeds, the daughter of an Ivy League professor, who is devastated when her adored fiancé is killed in World War I, before they have a chance to consummate their passion. Ignoring the unconditional love of the novelist Charles Marsden, Nina embarks on a series of sordid affairs before determining to marry an amiable fool, Sam Evans. While Nina is pregnant with Sam's child, she learns a horrifying secret known only to Sam's mother: insanity runs in the Evans family and could be inherited by any child of Sam's. Realizing that a child is essential to her own and to Sam's happiness, Nina decides on a "scientific" solution. She will abort Sam's child and conceive a child with the physician Ned Darrell, letting Sam believe that it is his. The plan backfires when Nina and Ned's intimacy leads to their falling passionately in love. Twenty years later, Sam's "son" Gordon Evans is approaching manhood, with only Nina and Ned aware of the boy's true parentage.The meaning of the title is suggested by the aging Nina in a speech near the end of the play: "Our lives are strange dark interludes in the electrical display of God the Father!"
Adaptations
Strange Interlude has been filmed twice, as a theatrical film in 1932 and as a television mini-series in 1988. The 1932 filmStrange Interlude (1932 film)
Strange Interlude is a 1932 American romantic drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard. The film stars Norma Shearer and Clark Gable, and is based on the play Strange Interlude by Eugene O'Neill.-Plot:...
, which starred Norma Shearer
Norma Shearer
Edith Norma Shearer was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s...
as Nina Leeds and Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
as Ned Darrell, was a shortened and toned-down version of the play. Voiceovers were used for the soliloquies.
The 1988 television version directed by Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise
Herbert Wise is an Austrian-born film and television producer and director.He was born as Herbert Weisz in Vienna, Austria and began his career as a director at Shrewsbury Repertory Company in 1950. He was at Hull Rep and then as Director of Productions at Dundee Rep 1952-55...
was based on a 1985 London stage revival and starred Glenda Jackson
Glenda Jackson
Glenda May Jackson, CBE is a British Labour Party politician and former actress. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1992, and currently represents Hampstead and Kilburn. She previously served as MP for Hampstead and Highgate...
as Nina and David Dukes
David Dukes
David Coleman Dukes was an American character actor.-Life:Dukes was born in San Francisco, California, the son of a highway patrolman...
as Ned (with Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
in the small part of Gordon Evans). This version follows O'Neill's original text fairly closely, and allows the actors to speak their soliloquies naturally in the manner of the stage production.
Popular culture
- Groucho MarxGroucho MarxJulius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
parodies this play in the 1930 Marx BrothersMarx BrothersThe Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
film, Animal CrackersAnimal Crackers (film)Animal Crackers is a 1930 American comedy film, in which mayhem and zaniness ensue when a valuable painting goes missing during a party in honor of famed African explorer Captain Spaulding. The film was both a critical and commercial success upon initial release, and remains one of the Marx...
. On three occasions, he tells a player, "Pardon me while I have a strange interlude," whereupon he walks over to the camera and makes ersatz philosophical comments to himself and the audience.
- MAD MagazineMad (magazine)Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
satirically combined the play with the television show HazelHazel (TV series)Hazel is a Screen Gems television series about a fictional live-in maid named Hazel Burke and her employers, the Baxters. The five-season, 154-episode series aired in primetime from September 1961 until April 1966...
in a piece that ran in the 1960s.
- The fledgling Howard Johnson'sHoward Johnson'sHoward Johnson's is a chain of hotels and restaurants, located primarily throughout the United States and Canada. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Howard Johnson's was the largest restaurant chain in the United States, with over 1,000 restaurants...
restaurant chain received a boost in 1929 when the mayor of BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
banned a production of Strange Interlude from his city. The Theatre Guild moved the production to suburban QuincyQuincy-People:*Saer de Quincy, 1st Earl of Winchester, Norman nobleman*Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, Norman nobleman*Quincy Jones , American record producer and musician-Places:France*Quincy, Cher, a commune in the Cher département in France...
, where it was presented with a dinner break. The original Howard Johnson's restaurant was near the theater, and hundreds of influential Bostonians discovered the restaurant, leading eventually to nationwide publicity for the chain.