All Of It – "Anna Christie" Stars Michelle Williams at St. Ann's Warehouse

Host: Alison Stewart
Guests: Thomas Kail (Director), Brian D’Arcy James (Actor, "Chris"), Mare Winningham (Actor, "Marthy")
Date: January 5, 2026
Topic: The revival of Eugene O’Neill’s classic "Anna Christie," featuring Michelle Williams in the title role at St. Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn.

Episode Overview

This episode explores the new staging of Eugene O’Neill’s "Anna Christie" at St. Ann’s Warehouse, with deep insight from the production’s director, Thomas Kail, and two stars, Brian D’Arcy James and Mare Winningham. Host Alison Stewart guides a rich conversation about the relevance of this 100-year-old Pulitzer-winning play, its modern interpretation, the cast’s approach to the material, and how the past's struggles still resonate in today’s world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Enduring Relevance of "Anna Christie"

• Modern Resonance ([02:41]):
  • Thomas Kail emphasizes that O’Neill’s exploration of carrying one's past and the struggle to reinvent oneself still rings true:

    “Anything true, especially in the performing arts, feels like somehow a writer like O’Neill was looking into the future while he was grappling with his own present tense.” (03:03)

  • Mare Winningham relates the play’s depiction of women’s struggles to ongoing contemporary issues:

    “The struggles for a woman in that time have companion struggles in this present time, and the tragedy or the darkness inherent in the play is leavened with some wonderful…language and rhythms.” (04:40)

Personal Connections to the Material

• First Encounters with the Play ([03:35], [05:44]):

  • Winningham had never read or seen Anna Christie until approached for this role and immersed herself in Act One, learning the rest alongside audiences during rehearsal.
  • D’Arcy James read it in college but only fully appreciated O’Neill’s depth and language when re-engaging for this production, comparing the process to overcoming intimidation with Shakespeare.

• Living the Language ([06:46]):

  • James describes releasing the fear around the “weighty” language and finding joy in “surfing the wave” of O’Neill’s words:

    "Once you get past that fear...it's a totally beautiful wave that you can surf." (06:47)

Honoring and Reinterpreting the Classic

• Director’s Intent ([07:27]):
  • Kail discusses balancing faithfulness to O’Neill with making choices for a contemporary audience, emphasizing the joy in being “a link in a chain” of past productions and trusting the play’s unique structure:

    “Most new plays are 67 scenes…But there's something about this [four 30-minute scenes] which sort of forces you just to sit and be in real time...” (08:04)

  • He praises his "extraordinary company" and sparse but elegant design, focusing on stripping away distractions and trusting the storytelling and "melodramatic energy" of the original.

Digging into Character

• Chris (James) and Marthy (Winningham) on the Margins ([10:23]):

  • Chris is introduced as an archetypal, world-weary barge captain with a complicated relationship with the sea—a “love-hate thing...it is the thing that takes life, but in a strange, ironic way, gives him life.” (11:46)
  • Marthy's character, as revealed by Mare, is comfortable living on the fringes, more at home with men, and is presented as a survivor who “finds a way to make it work” even amid outsider status.

• Reluctant Choices ([19:04]):

  • Chris’s difficult decision to push Marthy out when his daughter Anna returns is fraught with pain and necessity, described as “devastating.”
  • Marthy’s response is selfless and ambiguous:

    "Once you protect your ego a little bit, and that it was your idea...I felt like a survivor." (20:12)

Injecting Comedy into Tragedy

• Unexpected Humor ([14:37]):
  • The cast discusses how comedy in the first act both relaxes the audience and serves to foreshadow later darkness. Kail compares this to Billy Wilder, explaining that audience laughter is an investment in the characters and their struggles:

    “When you are laughing, what you're saying is: I understand. What you're saying is: I see something in myself reflected back.” (16:28)

Staging and Movement

• Physical World-Building ([22:45]):

  • The set consists of large, visible moving platforms rearranged by the cast, with choreography crafted by renowned movement director Steven Hoggett. Kail’s long-standing admiration for Hoggett led to fruitful, poetic collaboration.
  • Brian D’Arcy James says Hoggett formed “a family unit of actors really in tune with each other as physical occupiers of space,” which “makes a particular moment ring truer or louder.” (27:12)

• Performing in the Round ([27:19]):

  • Winningham initially found performing to three sides uncomfortable, worried “they didn’t see that over there,” but trusted her director and learned to “let it go.”
  • Kail finds it liberating, as it reduces presentational acting and makes the experience “a little bit like life.” (28:36)

Bringing Characters to Life (Costuming and Physicality)

• Transformation through Appearance ([29:58]):
  • James intentionally grew a "weird beard" to embody Chris’s age and rugged life, noting it adds a sort of “otherness” fitting for the character.
  • Winningham loves Marthy’s specific hat, feeling it meets “every Marthy need.”

Michelle Williams: Stage & Screen

• Directing Williams ([32:16]):
  • Kail details Williams' consistency and total investment, regardless of medium:

    “She only knows one way to do something, which is completely and thoroughly, and that is…the same whether you’re shooting three scenes [on TV] or doing the play. She loves acting, she loves actors.” (32:33)

  • He recounts Williams’ passion for theater and her influences, especially her early days “running away to the circus” of New York theater.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Thomas Kail on O’Neill’s Prescience:

  “Anything true…feels like somehow a writer like O’Neill was looking into the future while he was grappling with his own present tense.” (03:03)

• Mare Winningham on Anna’s Journey:

  "[The play leaves you] kind of championing Anna and what she's grabbing at the end, what she chooses to look at and what she chooses not to look at." (04:39)

• Brian D’Arcy James on Fear and Joy in Great Writing:

  “Once you get past that fear...it's a totally beautiful wave that you can surf.” (06:47)

• Kail on Producing O’Neill:

  “It’s not a play that’s been done particularly frequently…So you’re getting, you know, someone who’s a real OG, but you’re getting the early work, you know, which I think is kind of fun to see.” (07:45)

• James on Chris and the Sea:

  “It is the thing that takes life, but in a strange, ironic way, gives him life. It is really his raison d’etre.” (11:46)

• Kail on Comedy as Investment:

  “What you’re saying [by laughing] is: I understand. I see something in myself reflected back.” (16:28)

• Winningham on Marthy’s Endurance:

  “I didn’t feel that [she won’t survive]. I felt like a survivor...Maybe that's a beautiful tension that we have to wonder about any of these people, are they gonna make it?” (20:12)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:33] – What this version of "Anna Christie" is about (Kail)
• [03:40] – Winningham discovers the play for the first time
• [05:44] – D’Arcy James on his first and new impressions
• [07:27] – Kail on honoring and reinterpreting O’Neill
• [10:23] – Chris’s introduction: alcohol, sea life, and family (D’Arcy James)
• [12:45] – Marthy’s background and why she fits in with men (Winningham)
• [14:37] – The role of comedy in the play
• [19:04] – Chris pushes Marthy away for Anna’s sake; Marthy’s response
• [22:45] – Movement, staging and Stephen Hoggett’s process (Kail, D’Arcy James)
• [27:19] – Performing in the round: benefits and difficulties
• [29:58] – Costuming, beards, and character transformation
• [32:16] – Directing Michelle Williams: theater vs. television

Conclusion

The episode provides a rich look at how a timeless play like "Anna Christie" can be rejuvenated for new audiences. Listeners gain insight into the thoughtful, collaborative process behind the production and performance—how character, comedy, and physical staging combine to both modernize and honor Eugene O’Neill’s original vision. The cast and creative team’s enthusiasm for their craft and the material shines through, making this a compelling listen for any lover of theater or culture.

"Anna Christie" plays at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn through February 1st, 2026.