O’NEILL, Eugene

[182] pp.

Yale University Press

1957

First Edition: First Printing

8 3/4″ x 5 3/4″

Jacket: Burt Jackson

VG/ VG

A Touch of the Poet is a play by Eugene O’Neill completed in 1942 but not performed until 1958, after his death.

It and its sequel, More Stately Mansions, were intended to be part of a nine-play cycle entitled A Tale of Possessors Self-Dispossessed. Set in the dining room of Melody’s Tavern, located in a village a few miles from Boston, it centers on ageing pub owner Major Cornelius (“Con”) Melody, a braggart, social climber, and victim of the American class system in 1828 Massachusetts.

The play has been produced on Broadway four times. The original production, directed by Harold Clurman, opened on October 2, 1958, at the Helen Hayes Theatre (at the time, called The Little Theatre), where it ran for 284 performances. The cast included Helen Hayes, Eric Portman, Betty Field, and Kim Stanley. Both the play and Stanley earned Tony Award nominations.