''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of realism, earli ...

. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the original of Anna Christie was Christine Ell, an anarchist cook in

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, who was the lover of

Edward Mylius Edward Frederick Mylius (4 July 1878 – 24 January 1947) was a Belgian-born journalist jailed in England in 1911 for criminal libel after publishing a report that King George V of the United Kingdom was a bigamist. Early life Mylius was born i ...

, a Belgian-born radical living in England who libeled the British king

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother ...

Plot summary

''Anna Christie'' is the story of a former prostitute who falls in love, but runs into difficulty in turning her life around. ; Characters * Johnny the Priest * Two longshoremen * A postman * Larry — bartender * Chris C. Christopherson — captain of the barge ''Simeon Winthrop'' * Marthy Owen * Anna Christopherson — Chris's daughter * Mat Burke — a stoker * Johnson — deckhand on barge

Act I

The first act takes place in a bar owned by Johnny the Priest and tended by Larry. Coal-barge captain Old Chris receives a letter from his daughter, a young woman he has not seen since he lived in Sweden with his family and she was five years old. They meet at the bar and she agrees to go to the coal barge with him.

Act II

The barge crew rescues Mat Burke and four other men who survived a shipwreck in an open boat. Anna and Mat don't get along at first, but quickly fall in love.

Act III

A confrontation on the barge among Anna, Chris and Mat. Mat wants to marry Anna, Chris does not want her to marry a sailor, and Anna doesn't want either of them to think they can control her. She tells them the truth about her past: She was raped while living with her mother's relatives on a Minnesota farm, worked briefly as a nurse's aide, then became a prostitute. Mat reacts angrily, and he and Chris leave.

Act IV

Mat and Chris return. Anna forgives Chris for not being part of her childhood. After a dramatic confrontation, Anna promises to abandon prostitution and Mat forgives her. Chris agrees to their marriage. Chris and Mat have both signed to work aboard a ship that is leaving for South Africa the next day. They promise to return to Anna after the voyage.

Productions

O'Neill's first version of this play, begun in January 1919, was titled ''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 version, play, now titled ''Anna Christie'', had its premiere on Broadway at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921, and ran for 177 performances before closing in April 1923. The production was staged by Arthur Hopkins and starred Pauline Lord. The desk on which O'Neill wrote the play is preserved and on display at his family's former home,

Monte Cristo Cottage Monte Cristo Cottage (also known as Eugene O'Neill Summer House) was the summer home of American actor James O'Neill and his family, notably his son Eugene O'Neill. It is a National Historic Landmark located at 325 Pequot Avenue in New London, ...

in Connecticut.

Alexander Woollcott Alexander Humphreys Woollcott (January 19, 1887 – January 23, 1943) was an American drama critic and commentator for ''The New Yorker'' magazine, a member of the Algonquin Round Table, an occasional actor and playwright, and a prominent radio p ...

in ''

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'' 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." The

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

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 Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' 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.

Revivals

* 1952: The play was revived at the Lyceum Theatre on January 23, 1952, staged by Michael Gordon and designed by Emeline C. Roche with Celeste Holm as Anna, Kevin McCarthy, and Arthur O'Connell. It ran for 8 performances. * 1955: The play was revived at the Teatro 5 de diciembre of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, directed by

Tulio Demicheli Tulio Demicheli (born August 15, 1914, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. May 25, 1992, Madrid, Spain) was an Argentine born Spanish film director, screenwriter and film producer of the classic era. Born as Armando Bartolomé Demichelli in 1914, Demi ...

. It starred Silvia Pinal as Anna and

Wolf Ruvinskis Wolf Ruvinskis (October 31, 1921 – November 9, 1999), born Wolf Ruvinskis Manevics, was a Latvian-Mexican actor and professional wrestler. He was married to dancer Armida Herrera. Born to a Latvian mother and a Ukrainian father, of Jewish back ...

. * 1977: The play was revived at the Imperial Theatre on April 14, 1977, directed by José Quintero and designed by Ben Edwards. It starred Liv Ullmann as Anna, Robert Donley, John Lithgow and

Mary McCarty Mary Ballard McCarty (born December 8, 1954) is a politician and former County Commissioner in Palm Beach County, Florida, and served in office from November 1990 until resigning for corruption, announced on January 8, 2009. McCarty resigned fr ...

. It received Tony Award nominations for Liv Ullmann as Best Actress and for Mary McCarty as Best Featured Actress. It ran for 124 performances. * 1990: The play was staged at the Young Vic theatre in London and starred Natasha Richardson. * 1993: The play was revived on Broadway on January 14, 1993 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 William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on '' Th ...

, Anne Meara, and Rip Torn. It received Tony Award 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 The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The awards were established in 1955, with ...

for Richardson. It ran for 54 performances. * 2002: The play was directed by Gar Campbell at the Pacific Resident Theatre, rerunning from January 5, 2002 to May 5, 2002, starring Lesley Fera. * 2011: The play was produced at the Donmar Warehouse, London, running from August 4, 2011 to October 8, 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".

Adaptations

The play was adapted by Bradley King for a 1923 film of the same name directed by John Griffith Wray and Thomas H. Ince, with stars Blanche Sweet, William Russell,

George F. Marion George Francis Marion Sr. (July 16, 1860 – November 30, 1945) was an American film and stage actor and director, known for ''Anna Christie'', both (1923) and (1930), and '' Death from a Distance'' (1935). Marion acted in 35 films between 1 ...

, and

Eugenie Besserer Eugenie Besserer ( – May 29, 1934) was an American actress who starred in silent films and features of the early sound motion-picture era, beginning in 1910. Her most prominent role is that of the title character's mother in the first talki ...

. The play inspired '' Kiri no Minato'', directed by Kenji Mizoguchi in 1923, though the plot is quiet different from the original. This film is actually lost. A 1930 film adaptation by Frances Marion was directed by Clarence Brown and starred

Greta Garbo Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...

, Charles Bickford, George F. Marion and Marie Dressler. This pre-Code film used the marketing slogan "Garbo Talks!", as it was her first talkie. Her first spoken line has become her most famous: "Give me a whiskey with ginger ale on the side, and don't be stingy, baby." George F. Marion, who had performed the role of Anna's father in the original Broadway production, reprised the role in both the 1923 and 1930 film adaptations. A German-language adaptation, also starring Garbo, was filmed in 1930 and released the same year, using the same production as the English language film that had concluded filming in 1929. This version was adapted by Frances Marion, translated by Walter Hasenclever and directed by Jacques Feyder. In addition to Garbo, the cast included Theo Shall,

Hans Junkermann Hennes "Hans" Junkermann (6 May 1934 – 11 April 2022) was a German professional racing cyclist who won 35 road races in 18 seasons from 1956 to 1973. He won the German National Road Race in 1959, 1960, and 1961. Biography Junkermann was bor ...

, and

Salka Viertel Salka Viertel (15 June 1889 – 20 October 1978) was an Austrian Jewish actress and Hollywood screenwriter. While under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer from 1933 to 1937, Viertel co-wrote the scripts for many movies, particularly those starrin ...

. In 1957, a thoroughly reworked adaptation by

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Y ...

with music and lyrics by Bob Merrill, called '' New Girl in Town'', opened on Broadway. It ran for 431 performances. In 2018,

Encompass New Opera Theatre Encompass New Opera Theatre is a professional opera company located in New York City which specializes in premiering new productions, and reviving 20th century operas by American and international composers. A member of Opera America, Encompass was ...

presented an opera adaptation composed by Edward Thomas with a libretto by

Joe Masteroff Joe Masteroff (December 11, 1919 – September 28, 2018) was an American playwright. Early life Masteroff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents Louis Masteroff from Korsun, Russia (now Ukraine) and to the former Rose Pogost fr ...

at the Baruch College Performing Arts Center in New York City. Directed by Nancy Rhodes and conducted by

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, it featured Melanie Long in the title role, Frank Basile as Chris, Jonathan Estabrooks as Mat, Joe Hermlayn as Marthy and Mike Pirozzi as Larry. It ran for 12 performances. A recording with the original cast, produced by

Thomas Z. Shepard Thomas Z. Shepard (born June 26, 1936) is an American record producer who is best known for his recordings of Broadway musicals, including the works of Stephen Sondheim. Shepard is also a composer, conductor, music arranger and pianist. He has w ...

and conducted by

, with the orchestra NOVUS New York, will be released by Broadway Records on August 16, 2019. It is a collaboration of Trinity Church and Encompass New Opera Theatre.

Trivia

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."

Awards and nominations

;Awards * 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama * 1993 Drama Desk Award for Best Revival of a Play * 1993 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play * 2011 Olivier Award for Best Revival of a Play

References

External links

* * *
Production: ''Anna Christie''
— ''Working in the Theatre Seminar'' video at American Theatre Wing * {{Authority control 1921 plays Broadway plays Drama Desk Award-winning plays Plays by Eugene O'Neill Pulitzer Prize for Drama-winning works Tony Award-winning plays West End plays American plays adapted into films Plays about prostitution Plays set in New York City Christie, Anna Christie, Anna Works about prostitution in the United States