1912
Denzel Washington and fellow cast members crack themselves up in the current revival of Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh."
ON APRIL 25, DENZEL WASHINGTON strode onto the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater stage for the opening night of "The Iceman Cometh," which takes place from beginning to end at Harry Hope's Bar, somewhere in Lower Manhattan, in 1912.
In this star-driven, limited-run Broadway revival, all the customers are happy to see Hickey (Washington), because their lives are miserable and at least Hickey, a hotshot hardware salesman, always has funny stories to tell. Like the one about his wife supposedly cheating on him with the iceman. The rest of the time, it seems, the patrons of Harry's just lay their heads on their tables and wait for oblivion.
Considering what a gloomy picture "Iceman" presents, Press Nights thought it might be interesting to see how more recent dramas set in bars, pubs or taverns differ -- or don't. This is Part 1 in a series of articles on the theater and strong drink.
2000
A scene from Lynn Nottage's "Sweat," set in a Pennsylvania bar. The bar's TV is often set to a news channel.
THE PLAY
The Iceman Cometh, by Eugene O’Neill, 1946
Hangmen, by Martin McDonagh, 2015
The Weir, by Conor McPherson, 1997
Sweat, by Lynn Nottage, 2015
1965
Martin McDonagh's "Hangmen" is set in the decade when hanging was outlawed in England.
THE SETTING
[Iceman] Harry Hope’s saloon, a "Raines Law" establishment with rooms to rent upstairs, Lower Manhattan, 1912.
[Hangmen] A family-owned English pub in Oldham, Lancashire (near Manchester), 1965.
[Weir] A cozy unnamed rural Irish pub, "the present day."
Sweat A working-class bar, Reading, Pa., 2000.
Whenever
Conor McPherson's "The Weir," written in the 1990s, is set in "the present day."
THE BARTENDER
[Iceman] Harry Hope, a lost soul who has not left the building in 20 years, since the day of his wife’s funeral.
[Hangmen] Harry Wade, the owner, who has also enjoyed a long career as an executioner (hangman).
[Weir] Brendan, a gentle, accommodating single man in his 30s.
[Sweat] One is Oscar, a young Colombian-American man who figures he could make more money working at the mill.
THE DRINKERS
[Iceman] A motley crew of late-middle-aged men who have seen better days. Eight different characters are described as “onetime” something.
[Hangmen] The regulars, white men of all ages.
Shop Talk
A scene from "Sweat." If a bar's customers are co-workers, they're going to discuss their jobs.
[Weir] The locals. Jack, a mechanic; his assistant Jim; and Finbar, a businessman, who brings by the new neighbor.
[Sweat] Co-workers from the nearby mill. A mix of white, black and Latino workers ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s.
Body Language
A man-splaining scene from "The Weir." The only woman in the cast is a Dubliner who's new in town.
THE WOMEN
[Iceman] Pearl and Maggie, who live upstairs and prefer to be called tarts rather than prostitutes.
[Hangmen] The only two are the owner's wife and their teenage daughter.
[Weir] The only one is Valerie, a 30-something woman from Dublin who has just moved to town. Finbar brings her by the pub to "introduce her to the natives."
[Sweat] The patrons are about evenly divided by gender.
Suspicion
In "Hangmen," the only man in the bar who isn't a regular has something up his sleeve. He is also reading a newspaper, but that was normal in the 1960s.
THE TALK
[Iceman] Everybody's pipe dreams and how they've never worked out. Numerous political references to "the movement."
[Hangmen] Hanging has been outlawed in England, so Harry is out of a lucrative side gig.
[Weir] Who's bought whose house, which neighbors they saw that day, when the German tourists will start arriving. Then ghost stories about things that supposedly happened right here in the village.
[Sweat] Jobs, promotions, layoffs and the mill's rumored plan to hire Spanish-speaking workers for less money.
Everybody Knows Your Name
As this scene from "Hangmen" illustrates, bars in stage dramas are almost never crowded.
THE TENSION
[Iceman] Multiple and miasmic. Will Harry ever walk out the front door again? And what's wrong with Hickey on this visit? He's not drinking, and he seems to be harboring a secret.
[Hangmen] A debate over whether Harry once hanged an innocent man. Meanwhile, the stranger is clearly up to no good.
[Weir] Almost none, until the new neighbor offers her version of a ghost story.
[Sweat] Jobs, promotions, layoffs. (See above.)
Friends
Three co-workers ponder their less than glowing futures in "Sweat."
THE MOOD
[Iceman] Funereal.
[Hangmen] Jovial, with an edge.
[Weir] Jovial, without an edge.
[Sweat] A mix of celebratory, convivial and confrontational. But as Nottage wrote in the script's notes, the patrons "occasionally find moments of silence and introspection."
THE BOOZE
[Iceman] Five-cent whiskey.
[Hangmen] Pints of mild and bitter.
[Weir] Guinness, Harper and the like. When Valerie asks for a glass of white wine, Brendan has to leave the bar to get it.
[Sweat] Beer, whiskey, an occasional gimlet.
Keg Party
A scene from the 2018 revival of "The Iceman Cometh." At least some people dressed for cocktail hour in the old days.
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
[Iceman] All the ethnic slurs. They're anti-Dutch.
[Hangmen] Cigarettes.
[Weir] Absolutely nothing.
[Sweat] The group has a designated driver. Unfortunately, she’s passed out.