Anna Christie - Productions

Productions

O'Neill's first version of the play, begun in January 1919, was entitled Chris Christopherson and performed as Chris in out-of-town tryouts. O’Neill revised it radically, changing the barge captain’s daughter Anna from a pure woman needing to be protected into a prostitute who finds reformation and love from life on the sea. The new play, now entitled Anna Christie received its premiere on Broadway at the Vanderbilt Theatre on 2 November 1921 for 177 performances before closing in April 1923. The production was staged by Arthur Hopkins starring Pauline Lord.

Alexander Woollcott in the New York Times called it "a singularly engrossing play", and advised that "all grown-up playgoers should jot down in their notebooks the name of Anna Christie as that of a play they really ought to see."

• 1923: The London West End premiere was staged at the Strand Theatre (now the Novello) in 1923. This was the first time an O'Neill play was seen in the West End. The play starred Pauline Lord, who had been the original Anna Christie on Broadway. The play had a great reception. Time magazine wrote, "In London, the first night of Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie, with Pauline Lord in the title role, received a tremendous ovation. After the first act the curtain was rung up a dozen times during the applause.

• 1952: The play was revived at the Lyceum Theatre on 23 January 1952 in a production staged by Michael Gordon and designed by Emeline C. Roche with Celeste Holm as Anna, Kevin McCarthy and Arthur O'Connell. It ran for only 8 performances.

• 1955: According to actress Ellen Burstyn in the 2012 film "Marilyn in Manhattan," Marilyn Monroe performed a scene from Anna Christie at the Actors Studio with Maureen Stapleton. Calling the story "legendary, " Burstyn said, "Everybody who saw that says that it was not only the best work Marilyn ever did, it was some of the best work ever seen at Studio, and certainly the best interpretation of Anna Christie anybody ever saw. She...achieved real greatness in that scene." (According to some biographers, Marilyn was molested by foster parents and worked as a prostitute.)

• 1977: The play was revived at the Imperial Theatre on 14 April 1977 in a production directed by José Quintero and designed by Ben Edwards. It starred Liv Ullmann as Anna, Robert Donley, John Lithgow and Mary McCarty. It received Tony nominations for Liv Ullmann as Best Actress and for Mary McCarty as Best Featured Actress. It ran for 124 performances.

• 1993: The play was revived on Broadway on 14 January 1993 in a production by The Roundabout Theatre Company at the Criterion Center Stage Right. It was directed by David Leveaux and designed by John Lee Beatty. It starred Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson, Anne Meara, and Rip Torn. It received Tony nominations for Best Actress (Natasha Richardson), Best Actor (Liam Neeson), Best Featured Actress (Anne Meara), Best Direction (David Leveaux) and won the award for Best Revival. Neeson and Richardson both received the Theatre World Award. The production won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for Richardson. It ran for 54 performances.

• 2011: The play was produced at the Donmar Warehouse, London, running from 4 August 2011 to 8 October 2011, with Ruth Wilson as Anna, Jude Law as Mat and David Hayman as Chris. It was positively received by critics, with mostly 4 and 5 star reviews, and it won the 2012 Olivier Award for "best revival".