TLS: Saturday, April 03, 1920

Provincetown, Mass.
April 3, 1920.

My dear Madden:

I have decided to let Tyler go ahead with "The Straw" in Boston as he had planned to do. I wrote him a long letter telling him just how I felt about it and in reply I received yesterday from him a letter in which he covers my principal objections. If Hayes does not make good he promised that the play will go on anyway in New York next fall with another woman. Also he says that if she does make good, as he is sure she will, he will take her out of "Bab", in which she will open in New York, after that play has played a couple of weeks, put some other flapper in the "Bab" part, and feature Helen in "The Straw".

It was this which was principally bothering me -- what definite plans he had made for "The Straw" after Boston. I wanted to pin him down to cases on that and also make him understand that I would refuse to consider the Boston matinees as any fair criterion on which to judge the play's chances in New York.

As for Westley directing the play, I would much rather have to deal with a fresh mind in a young man, where a play of the unusual type of "The Straw" is concerned, than to have to battle against the set, antiquated notions of a regular conventional director. As for his acting the part, time will have to tell. At any rate, judging from a letter he wrote to me, he is full of the right spirit and that is half the battle.

In a letter received from Williams he mentions that he does not think there is a Movie in "Beyond". He says he has had them all there to see it from Griffith down. This opinion is a very great disappointment to me -- financially -- if it proves to be true. To my layman's mind it has always seemed that there were plenty of movie possibilities to "Beyond" -- provided, of course, that the story was messed up as it usually is when a play is screened. As I am profoundly ignorant in this matter, however, I would be greatly obliged if you would give me your candid dope on it in your next letter.

Richard Ordynski, erstwhile stage director of the Metropolitan Opera wired me on the eve of his departure for Poland asking for permission to do some one-act plays there and also "Beyond The Horizon". He seemed to think Poland was in no position to pay royalties and, judging from the papers, he is probably correct. Wishing to do my part toward that suffering country I gave him gratis permit for the short plays. The royalty for a short play in Poland at the present time is probably too small to estimate in American money anyway. As for "Beyond", I referred him to Williams, saying that he had the rights. (Williams' delay in taking up the option certainly has me balled up. Who in the devil has the say-so for foreign rights at present?)

Ordynski was a big man over there before the war, director of their finest theatre -- the Imperial in Warsaw -- and probably is going back to resume where he left off. So I thought it would prove good dope in the long run to act nice about my short plays and get a hearing in his country. I don't know whether Williams heard from him or not but I hope things will eventually be framed so that Ordynski can do "Beyond". I think it is a play that would make good in all Slavic countries.

Let me direct the attention of your bookkeeping dept. to the fact that they addressed my last statement to Providence Town. This is a common mistake which often results disastrously in that the letter is sent to Providence, R.I. and only reaches here after long delay.

To return again to the movie question, it seems to me that after a play had made the big noise "Beyond" has, and received the almost country publicity -- (to judge from the clippings I receive from all over the U.S.) -- that they would buy the name even if they didn't think much of the plot as a movie scenario.

Am working hard on "Gold". Have the first draft of the second act almost completed.

With very best regards,

Sincerely,

Eugene O'Neill.

P.S.

Yes, I told Tyler I would rewrite "Chris" but I said that it wouldn't be until I had finished "Gold". I said this summer. I want very much to rewrite it along a very new scheme from the old -- less scenes, a new daughter and lover, a new plot, and only the character of Chris and his struggle with the sea left intact. It will be a whale of a play if I can fit the idea I have into it.

I have had inquiries from John Kellerd who is anxious to read "Ile" and the other one-act plays with a view to filling out his season in vaudeville with one of them. He claims to be able to get the time. I told him to see you. If you haven't a copy of the book, can you get one form Boni and Liveright to show him? Did you ever get back the script of "Honor Among The Bradleys" from Shadowland magazine? Kellerd might be interested in that.