Interviews

Audra McDonald and Will Swenson Explore Eugene O'Neill's Moon for the Misbegotten

The married Broadway stars take on the iconic roles of Josie Hogan and James Tyrone Jr. in a new Williamstown Theatre Festival revival.

Will Swenson and Audra McDonald star in the new Williamstown Theaatre Festival revival of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten.
Will Swenson and Audra McDonald star in the new Williamstown Theatre Festival revival of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten.
(© David Gordon)

Eugene O'Neill defines her as "so oversize for a woman that she is almost a freak," with the "map of Ireland…stamped on her face." Her onstage counterpart is looked upon as a "dead man walking slow behind his own coffin." These descriptions are not what spring to mind when you think of theater couple Audra McDonald and Will Swenson, but they're no strangers to transformation. Knowing the illustrious track records of this talented pair, they'll turn themselves into Josie Hogan and James Tyrone Jr., the lonely protagonists of O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten, with a finesse that only two of the generation's best performers could provide.

"Audra and I had been hoping to do something together for years," Swenson says. When she was approached for this production, running through August 23 at Williamstown Theatre Festival, "It dawned on us that [Tyrone] was a neat part for me to try to tackle, as well. Everybody got on board."

"I just never thought that anybody would ever cast me as Josie," McDonald adds of a role that has been played by the likes of Colleen Dewhurst, Cherry Jones, and, most recently, Eve Best. "Because, you know, I'm not Irish. I just never thought of it being a possibility." It took a quiet, outdoor reading of the play before the deal was sealed. "We just sat in our yard and read the play," she continues, "sitting next to each other quietly, and it was like, Wow, this is certainly a character I feel I could understand really well."

Throughout her career, McDonald has been known for performing in just as many plays as she has musicals (and she has a Tony in every acting category in which she's eligible). Even though this isn't Swenson's first straight play, he is primarily known as a musicals man. "It's a very different skill set," he says of performing in nonmusicals.

"Often in a musical, songs don't continue the story and the character development as much as we would like them to. We stop our progression throughout the course of the night and sing a song or do a dance. The nature of book scenes is sort of, Let's cram everything we can into a tiny fraction of a scene. The beauty of a play is all that time that would otherwise be occupied by a musical number becomes wonderful speeches like we have in Moon for the Misbegotten. There's just more luxury in the time and development of the characters and the story."

Audra McDonald and Will Swenson rehearse a benefit performance of 110 in the Shade at the Hale Center Theater Orem in Utah in 2012.
Audra McDonald and Will Swenson rehearse a benefit performance of 110 in the Shade at the Hale Center Theater Orem in Utah in 2012.
(photo courtesy Hale Center Theater Orem)

Despite the hopeful-but-ill-fated love story at its core, Misbegotten, famously a sequel to Long Day's Journey Into Night, is an emotionally heavy experience for performers and audience members alike.. As a husband-and-wife team (who met doing Roundabout Theatre Company's 2007 revival of the musical 110 in the Shade), tackling this monumental work together makes it easier. Mostly.

"On one hand, we already have a level of trust and depth in our relationship," Swenson says. "With a show that demands this much connection, we have that to our advantage. But at the same time, it's being vulnerable about things you might not otherwise be vulnerable about with your spouse."

Swenson is just as curious to learn about McDonald's challenges. "I meant to ask you this privately," he says to her, but this forum is as good a chance as any. "I think it's been a fantastic experience so far," she adds. "If there were any challenges…I guess at the end of the day [if they were just two actors], you can part ways and be like, 'Hey, we just didn't get along all that well today,' and then go home to your life. Because we [do] go home together, I think we've had instances where I've been like, 'Hey, let's run lines,' and you're like, 'We just need to take a break,' or you're like, 'Hey, let's work on this,' and I'm like, 'I want to go watch TV.'"

"The challenges are just you spending too much time with your husband!" Swenson concludes with a laugh.

"Noooo! Oh my god!" McDonald starts laughing.

While most people expect Broadway to beckon (where it could join Long Day's Journey as part of the 2015-2016 lineup), Swenson insists that this production is just a summer lark. "Every show you do you're like, 'Why not? Let's do it forever,'" he says. "Right now, I'm in love with the play, and in love with Williamstown for that matter. We're legitimately in paradise because we can do our work and come home and watch the deer."

Audra McDonald and Will Swenson at the opening of Les Misérables, in which Swenson played Inspector Javert, in 2014.
Audra McDonald and Will Swenson at the opening of Les Misérables, in which Swenson played Inspector Javert, in 2014.
(© David Gordon)

Featured In This Story