It's a year for Eugene O'Neill.

It was 100 years ago that the dramatist first saw a play of his produced; "Bound East for Cardiff," which he penned in New London, was staged in Provincetown in 1916. Various organizations are marking that centennial by celebrating O'Neill.

Beyond that, Broadway audiences are seeing new productions of O'Neill classics. Later this month, "Hughie" starring Forest Whitaker is scheduled to open, and then, in April, comes a new "Long Day's Journey Into Night" with Jessica Lange and Gabriel Byrne.

For devotees who live in and around New London, where the Nobel- and Pulitzer-winning playwright spent his boyhood summers, there's yet another chance to celebrate O'Neill. The Philadelphia-based Walnut Street Theatre, which is America's oldest continuously operating theater, is bringing its tour of "A Moon for the Misbegotten" to Connecticut College for a public Tuesday performance.

"Moon," which was O'Neill's last work, features the character of James Tyrone Jr. from "Long Day's Journey" who was based on O'Neill's brother. In "Moon," Jim Tyrone is an alcoholic haunted by his past. He's also the landlord of a tenant farmer named Phil Hogan. Hogan had hoped Tyrone might sell him the land, but Tyrone tells him that he'll sell it to T. Steadman Harder, the neighbor that Hogan hates, and evict Hogan. Hogan develops a plan. He wants his daughter, Josie, to seduce and blackmail Tyrone.

Josie thinks of herself as a "big, rough, ugly cow of a woman" who, as a facade, pretends to be promiscuous. The dissolute Tyrone is haunted by his mother's death. These two damaged people spend a night of connecting and revelations together.

In the Walnut Street production, Angela Smith plays Josie, and this is her first time acting in an O'Neill play. She says it's been a huge challenge and an exciting role to delve into because Josie is so complex, with many levels of strength and vulnerability.

"She's a really well-written woman — that doesn't actually happen very often, unfortunately, especially in classical theater," Smith says. "You've got a handful of really strong women roles, like Hedda Gabler, Nora from 'A Doll's House,' and I think Josie fits right in there. She's more contemporary, obviously, but I was just really excited to play a woman who's written as a whole person. She's not just a symbol. She has a lot going on, she has a lot of her own opinions and a lot of her own strengths and weaknesses."

Smith notes that there's a good deal of deceit in the play, where people's interactions aren't genuine. O'Neill then breaks through the lies, letting the audience see how the characters really feel about each other.

"That's really great, because that happens constantly in real life — among family members, among romantic partners, among friends, or even among strangers. You have your presented self and you have a mode of operating and you have habits you fall into with certain people," she says. "When something unusual or difficult happens, you can get to the real truth of the relationship between all of the social cover."

Josie and her father naturally click into banter with each other. It's not until something important happens to them both that they begin being honest with each other, Smith says.

Discussing O'Neill's dialogue, Smith says it's similar to Tennessee Williams' in that it can suddenly transform into poetry.

"I think what O'Neill is trying to evoke in those moments — those are moments where they are suspended above the naturalistic moment they're in because the tragedy or whatever is propelling them forward in their spiritual journey is pushing them to another plane."

Ultimately, Smith sees "Moon" as a self-actualization story. Through their time with each other, Josie and Jim learn something vital about themselves and are able to move forward in their lives in a way they wouldn't have otherwise been able to.

Smith grew up in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, and acted as a youngster but planned to pursue opera as a career. She was going to major in voice in college but realized she wanted to do theater instead. After graduating, she moved to Philadelphia and began working.

Her productions have ranged from "The Taming of the Shrew" with Teatro Delle Due in northern Italy to "Doubt" at the Tri Arts Playhouse in Sharon, Connecticut. She played Lady Macbeth with the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre — and she played Henry IV with the same group. Of the latter, she says, "I do like playing cross-gender. Similar to Josie, it's just an opportunity to play a whole person. Unfortunately, women are often minimized. Playing a man is an opportunity to play a whole character because it's written that way."

She says that she really enjoys Shakespeare and classical theater and that playing Lady Macbeth was a huge moment in her career.

"I loved it. I hope to play Lady M many more times. ... You never stop finding stuff with Shakespeare — and, for that matter, you never stop finding things with O'Neill either," she says.

Two notes related to the Walnut Street Theatre performance here: The "Moon for the Misbegotten" actors will give a master class on audition techniques to Connecticut College students.

A related program that is open to the public: At 7 p.m. Friday at the Monte Cristo Cottage in New London, O'Neill scholars Robert Dowling and Robert Richter (who is also director of arts programming at Connecticut College) will lead a discussion about "A Moon for the Misbegotten." To register, go to bit.ly/eon-moon.

O'Neill, by the way, took some local inspiration for "Moon," including a New London-esque locale and various characters (Harder, for instance, was supposedly based on local estate owner Edward Hammond).

Walnut Street Theatre's "A Moon for the Misbegotten," 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, Palmer Auditorium, Connecticut College, New London; $24, $21 seniors and faculty/staff, $12 students; (860) 439-2787, conncoll.edu.