Marco Millions by Eugene O’Neill

Historical drama satirizing materialism

American playwright Eugene O’Neill, winner of the 1936 Nobel Prize in Literature, is best remembered as the author of tragic family dramas set in New England, such as Desire Under the Elms, Mourning Becomes Electra, or Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Alcoholism and the sea are frequent themes that reappear in his writings. One delving into the obscurities of his literary output, however, will find some surprising oddities in his body of work. Among these anomalies are two historical dramas about explorers of centuries past. The Fountain, a play about Spanish Conquistador Ponce de León’s quest for the fountain of youth in America, was completed in 1922. In a similar vein, Marco Millions is a historical play about the Venetian merchant Marco Polo’s journey to China to meet Kublai Kaan (the way O’Neill spells it). Marco Millions was published in 1927, and was first produced for the stage in the following year.

As the play opens, Marco Polo has reached an age where he is ready to play a decisive role in the family business, though he still has a lot to learn about the world. He accompanies his father Nicolo and his uncle Maffeo on an epic business trip to the East to trade with the great Kublai Kaan. In departing, Marco leaves behind his betrothed, Donata, vowing to remain faithful to her and marry her upon his return. Over the course of the trip, his youthful innocence gradually wears away as he acquires financial, political, and carnal knowledge. He is still naive in some ways, however, as demonstrated by the fact that he fails to notice that Kukachin, the lovely daughter of the Kaan, has fallen in love with him.

Marco may be the hero of this play, but O’Neill also makes him out to be rather a boob. Like a grandiose parody of an American middle-class shopkeeper, salesman, or bean counter, Marco’s eyes don’t see much beyond his business. His every action is directed toward profit. Rather than even noticing the exotic love and romance that is right under his nose, he is determined to make his fortune, win the respect of the folks back home, and marry his high school sweetheart. At times O’Neill makes the character so clueless that it becomes difficult to see what Kukachin finds attractive in him. In the end, the social commentary is pretty tepid, the cynicism hinders any emotional involvement, and the satire can hardly be called laugh-out-loud funny. The play ends with a brief epilog that delivers an odd meta-twist that breaks the fourth wall in a way (though nonverbally). While it may have been unusual and innovative for its time, this gimmicky device doesn’t really pay off by adding anything to the play.

Judging by the stage directions, Marco Millions would be a difficult and expensive production to stage. Although only about an hour in length, the includes scenes that take place in Italy, Persia, India, Mongolia, and China. The set specifications include palaces and ships, and some scenes require dozens of lavishly costumed extras. Bringing O’Neill’s elaborate vision of the play to life would require a tremendous amount of work for such a brief and relatively lighthearted affair. Some literary critics have described Marco Millions as “Shavian,” meaning similar in style to the plays of George Bernard Shaw, whose work was praised for its wittiness and its wealth of quotable bon mots. What may have worked for Shaw, however, doesn’t necessarily work for O’Neill. Marco Millions feels a bit like an overly built-up joke with a disappointing punch line or a somewhat pointless fable that’s misplaced its moral.
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