Early Inspiration

These were the first images that inspired director Randy Reinholz to adapt Desire Under the Elms.

O'Neill originally set the play in New England in the 1850s. Reinholz wanted to tell the same story in a different context; he chose the Missouri Ozarks circa 1910s. These images foretell the productions underlying themes of racism, class distinction, hard vs. soft, sexual desire, greed, and poverty.

Society has always and still does turn a blind eye to the issues of poverty. It is easier to pretend it is simply not there, when there's such wealth to compare.

If there is a lesson in this play, as Reinholz describes, it is that "great poverty, unchecked, will have catastrophic effect."

Paintings (from top): "A Social History of the State of Missouri: Huckleberry Finn" by Thomas Hart Benton, "Persephone" by Thomas Hart Benton, "The Ballad of the Jealous Lover of Lone Green Valley" by Thomas Hart Benton, "Night Hawks" by Edward Hopper.