The Last Will and Testament of Silverdene Emblem O'Neill

Abstract

“The Last Will and Testament of Silverdene Emblem O'Neill,” performed by Alex Roe, is among the recent offerings from the Metropolitan (Virtual) Playhouse to feature lesser-known works by Eugene O'Neill and the Provincetown Players. This solo performance of a short prose piece embodies the imagined final thoughts and wishes of O'Neill's beloved dog, affectionately called “Blemie,” who passed of old age in 1940.Although O'Neill endows Blemie with the considerate and loving impulses of a canine family member, he crafts a character whose voice and preoccupations are unmistakably O'Neill's. Early in the performance, Blemie notes that he is burying his missive in his master's brain, although “he will not know it is there until after I am dead.” Blemie clearly knows his master well, and he predicts O'Neill's and his wife Carlotta's deep well of loneliness once he passes, even as he works to assuage that loss. The piece is both a mourner's rationalization of loss and a gift to those who love and mourn him. As in his great plays, O'Neill here contemplates the fact that humans live lives of gathering property and possessions, only to find that the most important things we can pass on are the things that dogs leave behind: love and faith.The parallel enactment of Blemie's “last will and testament” and O'Neill's exorcism of his sorrow is detailed, charming, and understated. Roe highlights this parallelism through visual cues, including a Beckettian close-up on his penetrating stare and a black-and-white aesthetic that focuses the viewer's gaze on the actor's face. His evocative vocal and physical choices include a deep sigh that emerges from his nose before he begins to speak and a pronounced clacking of his tongue—a sound no human normally makes but one typical of a dog. This work continues subtly throughout, with Roe's “paw” adjusting an errant ear and his darting sideward glance indicating that something has caught his eye.Blemie's tone is formal; he is well mannered, well bred, and had been distinguished and handsome in his prime. Roe's deep and resonant voice conjures all of these features and smoothly supports O'Neill as he utilizes Blemie's generosity of spirit to plead with Carlotta to adopt another dog. Blemie notes, “Dalmatians, naturally, as everyone knows, are best,” before bequeathing his made-to-order Hermès coat to his imagined successor.Finally, Roe's performance of Blemie evokes another of O'Neill's favorite themes: the contemplation of what lies beyond death. For Blemie, the vision of paradise involves a life of full bladders, with each blissful hour a mealtime. For O'Neill during his years with Blemie, however, this question was a constant source of inspiration. Blemie references his life “on the ranch,” indicating the O'Neills' beautiful Northern California property and residence, Tao House, now the home of the Eugene O'Neill Foundation and a National Historic Site. O'Neill wrote his final and most memorable plays at Tao House, where Blemie is buried. Visitors pause at the memorial and grave to appreciate O'Neill's deep love for his pet, which is beautifully expressed in the rare vision of hope and open adoration in the final lines of the “Last Will and Testament.” Blemie instructs O'Neill and Carlotta to think this as they look at his grave: “Here lies one who loved us, and whom we loved. No matter how deep my sleep, I shall hear you. And not all the power of death can keep my spirit from wagging a grateful tail.”