Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Long Day’s Journey into Night was a collaborative theatrical class project for a design seminar class - THEA 580. The project included a guest director along with designer peers. Dennis Perkins, our director, and the rest of the team collaborated on how Eugene O’Neill’s beautiful representation of the deterioration of the Tyrone family was a very significant component of the play that needed to be pursued within both the scenic and costume paradigms. The specific deterioration of Mary Tyrone becomes a major catalyst within the show, using both deteriorating and vintage lace from the fashion trends at the turn of the century. It was a goal to show a progression of the deterioration until the final moment, as Mary descends down the stairs of the house wearing her wilted bridal nightgown (perhaps from her bridal trousseau) encased and decorated with different types of wilting lace and trimmings, clutching the pearls of her the past. Within her daze the audience sees her face covered with her wedding veil. It was also important to include the men of the Tyrone family within this world of deterioration; therefore, keeping them within the muted tones represented in the play feels appropriate.