Guide Note:
The Iceman Cometh is a four act play by Eugene O'Neill. The setting is 1912, at Harry Hope's Greenwich Village saloon and rooming house. For years this saloon has been the hangout for a group of alcoholic men, and three ladies of the evening.
The plays first act develops the characters of these patrons as they await the return of Theodore Hickey, or "Hickey" as he is known, whose birthday party they are planning.
As a salesman, "Hickey"'s presence adds a colorful dimension to the group as he regales them with stories of the happenings during his time on the road and his many encounters. All look forward to his return and his stories.
When "Hickey finally arrives this time, however, they find that he has embraced sobriety and therefore can no longer support them in the drunken excuses they continue to make for lives that are unchanging, and unsatisfying. Instead, he forces them to take an honest look at their lives and why they continue to stay as they are..
This change in the group dynamics leads to some interesting and complex developments for everyone, including "Hickey" himself.
A Nobel Prize winning play, The Iceman Cometh is considered one of Eugene O'Neill's finest works.
Fast Facts:
- Author: Eugene O'Neill
- Genre: Four Act Drama/Tragedy
- Setting: 1912, A Shabby Bar
- Protagonist: Larry Slade
- Antagonist: Theodore Hickman "Hickey"
- Written: 1939
- Performed: 1946
- Considered one of Eugene O'Neill's finest works
- Seldom staged due to complexities of charactor's
- 1936 Nobel Prize winner
