his father toured the nation for decades as the title role in a stage adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo—O’Neill had been shunted off to boarding school at age seven. By 1906, resentment of his fueled his O’Neill’s depression and early forays into alcoholism. Later on, these familial failings, and resultant lack of faith in O’Neill’s bourgeois values, served as the stimulus for his most plays: Night, The Long Day’s Journey Into Iceman Cometh and Anna Christie, to name a few. And yet, in renders a teenage boy Ah, Wilderness!, O’Neill struggling with newfound independence and sexual feelings, and his efforts to guide him parents’ wise, firm towards a functional, happy adulthood. wrote the O’Neill play in 1933, but set it in 1906, creating a fantastical version of the adolescence he never enjoyed. In Richard Miller lives with his parents Ah, Wilderness!, and siblings in a small Connecticut town. A newly minted high school graduate, Richard plans to attend Yale University in the fall; meanwhile, he is spending the summer reading books and plays by writers his parents deem too lascivious—Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw and the prurient Oscar Wilde—and wooing his first love, parents discover a passionate poem Muriel. When Muriel’s that Richard has given her, they forbid her to see him. This leads Richard onto an adventure fueled by his anger towards the conventional values that surround him, and by healthy adolescent curiosity. His parents, while flawed, never fail to tend to their and the entire children’s needs, family is buffered from by laughter and their life’s travails love for one another.
his father toured the nation for decades as the title role in a stage adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo—O’Neill had been shunted off to boarding school at age seven. By 1906, O’Neill’s resentment of his fueled his depression and early forays into alcoholism. Later on, these familial failings, and O’Neill’s resultant lack of faith in bourgeois values, served as the stimulus for his most plays: Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Iceman Cometh and Anna Christie, to name a few. And yet, in Ah, Wilderness!, O’Neill renders a teenage boy struggling with newfound independence and sexual feelings, and his parents’ wise, firm efforts to guide him towards a functional, happy adulthood. O’Neill wrote the play in 1933, but set it in 1906, creating a fantastical version of the adolescence he never enjoyed. In Ah, Wilderness!, Richard Miller lives with his parents and siblings in a small Connecticut town. A newly minted high school graduate, Richard plans to attend Yale University in the fall; meanwhile, he is spending the summer reading books and plays by writers his parents deem too lascivious—Henrik Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw and the prurient Oscar Wilde—and wooing his first love, Muriel. When Muriel’s parents discover a passionate poem that Richard has given her, they forbid her to see him. This leads Richard onto an adventure fueled by his anger towards the conventional values that surround him, and by healthy adolescent curiosity. His parents, while flawed, never fail to tend to their children’s needs, and the entire family is buffered from life’s travails by laughter and their love for one another.
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