Wichita’s Guild Hall finally stages Eugene O’Neill classic ‘Ah, Wilderness!’

The plan for Guild Hall Players’ 2020-21 season was to bookend it with playwright Eugene O’Neill’s most famous works.

“‘Long Day’s Journey into Night’ is the ultimate tragedy of his and ‘Ah, Wilderness!’ is his only comedy,” Dan Schuster said.

But we all know what happened to plans for 2020 and 2021.

Schuster is directing “Ah, Wilderness!” which runs Aug. 5-8 at St. James Episcopal Church.

“It’s a lovely little show,” Schuster said of O’Neill’s 1933 play, set on Independence Day 1906. “It’s a classic and it has that classic appeal. And who doesn’t like Eugene O’Neill?”

Billed as a “comedy of recollection,” the play centers on 16-year-old Richard, the middle son of a Connecticut family.

“Most of the concepts in the show are pretty universal and timeless,” said Cole Adams, who plays Richard.

“It’s really about a family that has their little squabbles and minor issues, but ultimately loves each other,” Schuster said. “It’s a nice message of family sticking together through thick and thin.”

Bob Lancaster, who plays father Nat Miller, said some of the language in the turn-of-the-century setting proved challenging.

“There’s terms and usage that aren’t common today to some extent,” he said. “It’s not Shakespearean (dated) by any extent of the imagination.”

“It really is about a family dynamic and kids growing up and adults learning to live with each other’s flaws,” Adams added. “Even if some of the cultural aspects have shifted a bit, the values of what we have considered wrong or right have moved a bit, the ideas of what happen in the show hold up pretty well today.”

Diane Tinker Hurst, who plays mother Essie, said it would have been nice to open the Guild Hall Players’ season with “Long Day’s Journey” and close it with “Ah, Wilderness!” to show the contrast in O’Neill’s subjects and semi-autobiographical life.

“(‘Ah, Wilderness!’) is what he wished his family was like, versus what his family was like in ‘Long Day’s Journey,’” she said.

Guild Hall Players has also announced its 2021-’22 season: “The Father,” a tragic farce, Nov. 4-7; “Rabbit Hole,” a modern drama, Feb. 3-6; “His Passover,” an original play by artistic director Phil Speary, April 7-10; “Real Women Have Curves,” a Hispanic comedy-drama, May 26-29; and “A Light in the Piazza” (tentatively scheduled) musical, July 28-31.

“Ah, Wilderness!” by Guild Hall Players

When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 5-7; 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 8

Where: St. James Episcopal Church, 3750 E. Douglas

Tickets: $12 adults, $10 students and military, by calling 683-5686