Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Robert Cuccioli delivers a titanic performance in Irish Rep’s revival of Eugene O’Neill’s problematic A TOUCH OF THE POET

• By drediman
• March 28, 2022
• No Comments

This past weekend, I attended a rare revival of Eugene O’Neill’s A Touch of the Poet, which is currently being staged Off-Broadway by the Irish Repertory Theatre. As one of the more successful digital productions mounted by the Irish Rep during the pandemic – thanks largely to Robert Cuccioli’s titanic central performance as the proud and delusional Cornelius Melody (“Con”) – the play seems a logical choice for a full in-person staging by the Chelsea-based theater company now that live performances have robustly resumed in the city.

It’s no secret that O’Neil’s play is problematic. It’s overlong and melodramatic, and the tendency and frequency of its characters to vacillate between emotions on a dime can be maddening. But as a portrait of extreme male toxicity, A Touch of the Poet is often potent. Caught in the pompous grandeur of his past as an English gentleman and a war hero, Con causes havoc on the lives of those who must bear the brunt of his tempestuous behavior, particularly his loving wife and headstrong daughter. Matters aren’t helped much by the fact that Con suffers from a very bad case of alcoholism (a disease from which many an O’Neill character notoriously suffer), which contributes to the unpredictability and severity of his abusive and often outrageous conduct.

The production has been staged sturdily by Irish Rep’s Ciarán O’Reilly. As per usual for the theater company, the revival is vividly acted, especially by Cuccioli. As Con, he delivers a skilled, larger-than-life performance. It’s a magnetic, frighteningly intense portrayal that’s brooding, charismatic, and deplorable – often times in the same line reading. As Con’s devoted wife, Kate Forbes is affectingly grounded, providing an ideal counterpoint to Cuccioli’s railing, raging Con. As his daughter, Belle Aykroyd navigates the character’s love/hate relationship with her father with transparency and intelligence, although her performance seems a tad too “modern” for O’Reilly’s traditional reading of the play.

RECOMMENDED

A TOUCH OF THE POET
Off-Broadway, Play
Irish Repertory Theatre
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Through April 17