Eugene O’Neill’s “The Hairy Ape” opens tonight Off-Broadway: Jon Beavers as Yank at the Irish Repertory Theatre

New York — Eugene O’Neill’s expressionist classic, “The Hairy Ape”, celebrates its official opening night tonight at the Irish Repertory Theatre, on the Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage. As BroadwayWorld reports, the production is directed by Ciarán O’Reilly, the company’s producing artistic director, who brings the play back to the stage on the 20th anniversary of his acclaimed 2006 production — the same director’s hand, but with an entirely new cast.

The leading role of Yank, the brutal ship’s stoker searching for a place in the world, is taken by Jon Beavers (known from Hulu’s series “Paradise”), who thus makes his New York theatre debut. According to TheaterMania, the cast also includes Elizabeth Teeter as Mildred, the spoiled daughter of the ship’s owner, John Keating as Paddy — in his 29th show with Irish Rep — as well as Joanna Glushak, Ariyan Kassam, Adam Petherbridge, Jonathan Crimeni, Hassiem Muhammad, Harrison Tipping and Audrey Cardwell.

Written in 1922, “The Hairy Ape” (subtitled “A Comedy of Ancient and Modern Life”) is considered a turning point of American theatre: Yank’s journey from the ship’s stokehole to Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, through prison and IWW union meetings, tells of the desperate search for belonging in a world controlled by the rich and the powerful. As the Village Star Revue writes, director O’Reilly sees the play as highly topical — the idea of reviving it was born after he read about steel workers in the Midwest who felt “left out and pushed aside”.

The show, with a running time of 90 minutes without an intermission, has been in previews since 25 September and remains on stage until 15 November. The set design is by Charlie Corcoran, the costumes by Orla Long, the lighting by Michael Gottlieb, the sound by Florian Staab and the original music by Ryan Rumery. Irish Rep’s autumn season then continues with Conor McPherson’s “The Good Thief”, with Christopher Fitzgerald, which opens on 12 November, according to Playbill.