By RICHARD WATTS, JR.

The Circle in the Square put us all in its debt yesterday by opening a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh,” and it is a pleasure and an honor to see it again, particularly in so sound a production as Jose Quintero has staged.  Of course, “The Iceman” is too long.  It is also repetitious and inclined to be elephantine in its tread, and it is certainly not intended for casual playgoing.  But it is a work of titanic power, one of the authentic masterpieces of the modern theater, and quite possible the finest drama ever written by America’s most distinguished playwright.

It was 10 years ago that the Theater Guild first offered this mastodonic drama, and while there were a lot of people who didn’t like it then, I doubt if anyone who saw it will ever forget its tremendous impact.  O’Neill wrote it with no concern for brevity.  He piled detail upon detail and speech upon speech, and he seemed to introduce enough characters for several plays.  There are times when even his most ardent enthusiasts were left a little exhausted.  But the point is that he did achieve a brooding intensity of spirit that is often not far from overwhelming.

In those days, there was a tendency to compare it to Gorky, since its people are the doomed misfits of the earth and its setting is a saloon and lodging house of the lower degree.  Now the comparison is likely to be “Waiting for Godot,” because it deals with lost mankind’s search for dreams and illusions.  Indeed, it may be said the “The Iceman Cometh” shows sardonically what happens when Godot arrives, for Hickey, the salesman whose coming is so eagerly awaited by O’Neill’s exiles, does get there, and brings, not happiness, but the destruction of their dreams.

It was said by those who bitterly disliked “The Iceman” that its defeatist message was “Stay drunk and keep your illusions.”  This strikes me as a most superficial description of what the drama has to say.  It is true that the O’Neill misfits lose what solace they find in life when Hickey tells them they must face reality and sobers them up, and are happy again only when they return to their alcoholic illusions.  But I think all O’Neill is saying is that some sort of illusions are necessary in a bleak world and that men are lost without them, whatever they may be.

This may be a dark and terrible philosophy, since O’Neill was a man of somber spirit and tragic sense of life, but “The Iceman” is not basically a thesis play.  What is important is that it is the work of a superb dramatist, with deep insight into the human heart, a vivid and compassionate understanding of character, and rare emotional and theatrical power, and that the play shows all of his qualities, including his brooding poetic sense and his occasional flashes of humor, at their peak.  Just as a rueful dramatization of the joys and sorrows of the world’s misfits, it is unforgettable.

He also wrote magnificent acting roles.  No one who saw the late Dudley Digges as Harry Hope, the saloon owner, in the first production will ever forget him, but Farrell Pelly plays the role admirably.  Jason Robards Jr., in the difficult part of Hickey, gives a brilliant performance, far better than the original portrayal of this all-important characterization.  In addition, there is especially good work by Addison Powell, William Edmonson, Richard Bowler, James Greene, Conrad Bain, Paul Andor, Peter Falk, Joe Marr and Dolly Jonah.  “The Iceman Cometh” remains a monumental drama.