The argument can be made that theater people are stuck on themselves. Count the number of plays and musicals devoted to the high wire existence of performing on stage. From "The Dresser" and "Anton in Show Business" to "A Chorus Line" and "Merrily We Roll Along," the list is long.

A life in the theater is to be celebrated -- unless your last name is Tyrone. Then the mixture of the stage and family is toxic, and the merchant marines are an attractive alternative.

The Tyrones are Eugene O'Neill's thinly veiled rendering of himself and his kin in his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, "A Long Day's Journey into Night." It was so painful to author, O'Neill said the play was "written in tears and blood," and he did not allow it to be performed until he was dead.

In the piece, family patriarch James Tyrone, Sr., is a skinflint actor who dragged his fragile wife, Mary, and two growing sons around the country with him for years as he toured in a commercially popular but mediocre play. Bitterness and resentment constantly simmer, fueled by the copious consumption of alcohol, in the family's summer cottage in Connecticut. Dysfunction is defined by the Tyrone clan, but, like the sun poking through heavy cloud cover, familial love is sporadically evident.

"A Long Day's Journey into Night" is an American classic, and Spring Green's American Players Theatre opened a high-octane staging of it last week in the company's new 201-seat indoor performance space, the Touchstone Theatre. Directed by John Langs, the production is curious because it is played at full emotional, physical and vocal volume as if it were being mounted on the APT's much less intimate outdoor stage. The size and inside ambiance of the Touchstone -- no bugs, bats or airplane engines -- provide a welcoming environment for nuanced acting, but we see little of that in this "Long Day's Journey."

Sarah Day's portrait of the morphine-addled Mary Tyrone borders on the histrionic. Having Day roam the catwalk above the stage as a usually unseen Mary paces on the second floor of the cottage in the middle of the night is a clever directorial touch.

Kenneth Albers brings a burly physicality to James Tyrone, Sr., that gives the character an appropriate hint of intimidation, yet he impressively and credibly turns on a dime to radiate genuine love for his wife and adult sons. Albers shows the quicksilver mood swings of a longtime conflicted alcoholic.

Jim DeVita and Darragh Kennan provide generic portrayals of sons Jamie and Edmond. Leia Espericueta makes the most of the small role of house servant Cathleen, etching a charming little portrait brimming with individuality and personality.

The bottom line is this APT production is surprisingly unremarkable, mirroring another of the Touchstone offerings, Harold Pinter's "Old Times." Maybe after 29 years of performing in its large outdoor amphitheater, the company must be given some time to find its footing in the much smaller indoor space.

Chatting with the Rep's new managing director

Speaking of brimming with individuality and personality, I spent a fun couple of hours chatting with new Milwaukee Rep managing director Dawn Helsing Wolters, who is bound to liven up more than a few dreary arts meetings.

She was in only her fifth day on the job and not ready to speak in detailed specifics, but the New Jersey native, whose last gig was running the business side of Chicago's Court Theatre, is very aware of the challenges she and the Rep face.

A year ago, the Rep was starting a new season with a $9.9 million budget. After the economy crashed last fall, the company eliminated a few jobs and required non-union employees to take unpaid furloughs. The 2009-10 season, which begins next week, will be mounted on about 18 percent less money than that $9.9 million figure.

Helsing Wolters emphasized that she has not come to the Rep to slash staff, programs or the number of productions offered. "The Rep has worked very lean for many years. The company has a great work ethic," she said. "I think everybody is doing a good job with containing costs.

"My job is not about cutting. It is about building resources and financial breathing room. My job is to help bring energy and excitement to the company."

The new managing director clearly has the personality to be a fund raiser, and that is likely to be where she will focus a good deal of energy. She pointed out that the Rep has traditionally been a national leader in the percentage of its budget derived from earned income (ticket sales).

"No stone will be left unturned" in seeking other sources of funding, Helsing Wolters promised.

The Skylight is back!  

After surviving its summer from hell, the Skylight Opera Theatre launched its 50th season Tuesday night with a mini-Woodstock –- five solid hours of non-stop performances. Some of them were quite spectacular. The occasion was a free open house organized to put all of the bad news and bad vibes behind the company.

Thirty-seven professionals and a chorus of about a dozen high school kids entertained in the Cabot Theatre, the Skylight bar and on an outdoor stage that was erected to face Catalano Square. More than 500 persons attended, and although admission was free, about $10,000 was raised by Skylight artists who frequently circulated through the crowd with buckets and hats.

Performing with a pool of rotating accompanists, the soloists ranged from Skylight veterans Joel Kopischke, Leslie Fitzwater and Peggy Peterson Ryan to Milwaukee High School of the Arts senior Lydia Eiche and newcomer Julia Black, who will make her company debut in "Rent" this season. Magician David Seebach met the Marx Brothers (Norman Moses and Ray Jivoff) in a hilarious schtick-filled body sawing routine.

The Skylight is back!