The Iceman Cometh (Masterplots II: Drama)
At a glance:
- Author: Eugene O’Neill
- First Published: 1946
- Type of Work: Tragicomedy
- Time of Work: Summer, 1912
- Setting: Harry Hope’s saloon, on the downtown West Side of New York City
- Principal Characters: Harry Hope, Ed Mosher, Pat McGloin, Willie Oban, Joe Mott, Piet Wetjoen (The General), Cecil Lewis (The Captain), James Cameron, Jimmy Tomorrow, Hugo Kalmar, Larry Slade, Rocky Pioggi, Don Parritt, Chuck Morello, Theodore Hickman ()
- Genres: Drama, Tragedy, Tragicomedy
- Subjects: Values, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., Self-discovery, United States or Americans, New York City, Restaurants, bars, taverns, or pubs, Guilt, 1910’s, Success or failure, Hallucinations or illusions, Life, philosophy of, Christ figures or saviors, Mortality, Sales personnel
- Locales: New York, NY
The Play
Act 1 of The Iceman Cometh begins in the back room and a section of the bar at Harry Hope’s on an early morning in summer, 1912. The right wall of the back room is a dirty black curtain which separates it from the bar. At the rear, this curtain is drawn back from the wall so the bartender can get in and out. The back room is filled with three rows of tables from front to back, three in the front line, two each in the second and third. To the right of the dividing curtain is a section of the barroom, with the end of the bar visible at the rear and one table in...
[The entire page is 2807 words long]
