Eugene O'Neill's Annual Birthday Party

Join Us for Eugene O'Neill's 136th Birthday Party!

You're invited to celebrate the incredibly influential, Eugene O'Neill, in his childhood summer home, the Monte Cristo Cottage. Come tour the cottage with O'Neill Scholars, Rob Richter and Steve Bloom, as your guides to learn about the O'Neill family, Eugene O'Neill's plays, and how they have impacted society.

Situated in New London, Connecticut, the Monte Cristo Cottage is the boyhood summer home of Eugene O'Neill, America's only Nobel Prize-winning playwright. The 1840s cottage is named in honor of Eugene O'Neill's father, the actor James O'Neill, and his most popular role as Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo.

Registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1971, the Cottage is the setting for two of O'Neill's most notable works, Long Day's Journey Into Night and Ah, Wilderness!. Currently the Cottage operates as a museum featuring a permanent exhibition on the life and works of Eugene O'Neill and an extensive collection of artifacts and memorabilia.

Curators emeritus Sally Pavetti and Lois McDonald began coordinating the restoration and furnishing of the Cottage in 1972, based on research and careful reading of O'Neill's works, and it first opened to the public in 1982. The Cottage was expanded in the spring of 2005, and now reflects the setting of Eugene O'Neill's autobiographical masterpiece Long Day's Journey Into Night as described by the dramatist in his set directions and depicted in his sketch for the play. Very few other literary landmarks are as evocative of a writer and his inner world.

For information, advanced tour reservations, or to volunteer at the Cottage, contact theaterlives@theoneill.org.

Cost:
Adults: $10
Students/O'Neill Members: $5