Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Receives $138,595 Grant for Rehabilitation of Monte Cristo Cottage

The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center is one of 58 projects in 26 states, the Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia receiving $25.7 million in grants provided by the National Park Service (NPS) in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) this year. 

“These grants preserve and conserve nationally significant properties and collections to tell a more complete story of America and its people,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “Preserving these historic places and collections ensures the generations of today and tomorrow can enjoy and learn from the diverse stories across time and place in America's history.”

The $138,595 in funding received by the O'Neill will be used to make necessary upgrades to the Monte Cristo Cottage, located at 322 Pequot Avenue in New London, CT, including repairs to its siding, insulation, and interior heating and cooling systems to help better protect it from the seaside elements and preserve it for future generations.

“The Monte Cristo Cottage is an incredibly important landmark, not only for us at the O'Neill and the City of New London, but for the American Theater at large”, said the O'Neill's Executive Director, Tiffani Gavin.  “This funding will go a long way towards ensuring that students, scholars, and theater artists alike will be able to experience inspiration for two of O'Neill's greatest works up close for years to come.”

The Cottage is the boyhood summer home of Eugene O'Neill, America's only Nobel Prize-winning playwright. The 1840s cottage is named in honor of Eugene O'Neill's father, the actor James O'Neill, and his most popular role as Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo.

Registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1971, the Cottage is the setting for two of O'Neill's most notable works, Long Day's Journey Into Night and Ah, Wilderness!. Currently the Cottage operates as a museum featuring a permanent exhibition on the life and works of Eugene O'Neill and an extensive collection of artifacts and memorabilia.

More information about the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and the Monte Cristo Cottage can be found at www.theoneill.org/mcc.

Web: www.theoneill.org/

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About the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center:

The Launchpad of the American Theater, the O'Neill is the country's preeminent organization dedicated to the development of new works and new voices for the American theater. Founded in 1964, and named in honor of Eugene O'Neill, four-time Pulitzer Prize-winner and America's only playwright to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, the O'Neill has been home to more than 1,000 new works for the stage and thousands more emerging artists. Scores of projects developed at the O'Neill have gone on to full production at theaters around the world. O'Neill programs include the National Playwrights Conference, National Music Theater Conference, National Critics Institute, National Puppetry Conference, Cabaret & Performance Conference, and National Theater Institute – which offers six credit-earning undergraduate training programs. In addition, the O'Neill owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage as a museum open to the public. The O'Neill is the recipient of two Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts. www.theoneill.org.

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