If his characters could attend a party commemorating what would be New London native Eugene O'Neill's 133rd birthday on Oct. 16, which would show up?

Possibly Hickey Hickman from "The Iceman Cometh." Probably not the Mannon family from "Mourning Becomes Electra," who are some dark folks even by Gene's estimable standards. But hopefully the whole Tyrone clan would sing "Happy Birthday" in close gospel harmony along with Phil Hogan from "Moon for the Misbegotten."

"The Hairy Ape's" Yank could mow the yard and get the Monte Christo Cottage, O'Neill's boyhood home, looking well manicured for the festivities. The titular "Emperor Jones," whom the author reportedly based on an actual tavern keeper on the New London waterfront, would bring the beer. Richard Miller, who comes of age in O'Neill's comedy "Ah, Wilderness," might bring a little youthful optimism and cheer. And Cybel, the earth-mother personification in "The Great God Brown," should probably oversee the whole thing.

The next best thing — possible a BETTER thing — will be the Eugene O'Neill 133rd Birthday Celebration taking place Saturday in New London with a variety of talks, lectures, dramatic interpretation, cake-eating and more.

Presented by Flock Theatre and Sand Fiddler Marketing, the celebration is an event that has been tried in the past. After all, O'Neill, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature and whose name graces the excellent, multi-faceted theater center in Waterford, is sufficiently giant in the fields of literature and drama that his hometown should proudly hype and celebrate this. Baltimore has Edgar Allen Poe and H.L. Mencken activities and New Orleans has its Tennessee Williams Festival.

Why not here?

"I was part of the Poe and Mencken events in Baltimore and looked at the Williams event and the George Bernard Shaw festival in Ontario, and it seems obvious that New London should do something similar with O'Neill," says Richard Selden of Sand Felder Marketing, who recently moved his marketing company to New London. "When I got here, I knew of the O'Neill connections and just sort of assumed there would be something commemorative on his birthday. But there weren't any."

Selden decided to see what he could come up with. He reached out to Derron Wood, director of the city's Flock Theatre company, which had staged "Long Day's Journey Into Night" a few years ago inside the Monte Cristo Cottage.

"Out of the blue, I got this call from Richard," Wood says, laughing. "He said, 'Hey, what are you going to be doing on October 16? It's Eugene O'Neill's birthday!' I thought, well, he's right. We should do something."

There have been previous celebrations of O'Neill and even a few attempts to put on annual events. "I remember being part of a 100th birthday celebration when I was a senior at Conn College," Wood says, "and Flock has participated in some of the earlier events, but it always seems like they sort of come and go."

Selden and Wood contacted a variety of scholars and some of the actors from Flock's "Long Day's Journey" production and came up with a day's worth of activities. The programming will take place in the Thames Club, where Wood serves as director and where O'Neill's father, James, was a member.

Christie Max Williams, who portrayed James Tyrone in the Flock version of "Long Day's Journey," looks forward to Saturday when he and three of his castmates will recreate some of the pivotal scenes from the play.

"O'Neill created some of theatre's most memorable roles for us, set in provocative stories that continue to resonate in important ways," Williams says by email. Of the opportunity to perform Saturday as part of the celebration, he adds, "It's hard to imagine a more fitting way to say 'Happy birthday, Gene.'"

The sentiment is echoed by Rob Richter, author of the book "Touring Eugene O'Neill's New London" and director of arts programming at Connecticut College, who will speak at the celebration as one of the lecturers on the program.

"It's a great pleasure to be celebrating Eugene O'Neill on his 133rd birthday, and to hold that celebration in New London," Richter says. "O'Neill was influenced by the people he met and places that he lived and visited, and the people of New London and the city itself provided him with significant inspiration."

With no budget to work with, Selden and Wood are relying on the spirit and generosity of the speakers and actors, and in that way, they emphasize the celebration is a heartfelt way to acknowledge and commemorate O'Neill, his works, and his connections to New London.

"It really is about having fun, and if it happens that a grassroots movement arises where we can start something like this annually, that's even better," Wood says. "Richard stressed that similar events like the Poe thing in Baltimore are low-key and with cake, but there are also scholars involved because it IS in honor of a great artist. Here? O'Neill is our only Nobel winner. His family is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery and, as a theater person, I love O'Neill and see how everything that developed in the theater after him was influenced by him. So let's raise a glass to Doom-and-Gloom Gene! I think he'd appreciate it."

The schedule on Oct. 16:

10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with speakers, Thames Club

• Richter speaking on "An Introduction to O'Neill's New London"

• Steven Bloom from Lasell University on "A House Is Not a Home: O'Neill's Lifelong Quest to Belong"

• Beth Wynstra from Babson College on "Playing the 'Good Wife': The Performance of Marital Roles, Expectations, and Anxieties in the Plays of O'Neill"

2:30-3:30 p.m. Birthday cake served in front of Title IX, the Bank Square Books pop-up next to the Garde. The store will have works by O'Neill and books about him from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

3:30 to 5 p.m. Dramatic readings, Thames Club

Flock actors Christie Williams, Eric Michaelian, Anne Flammang and Gary Poe will perform in a "Meet the Tyrones" series of scenes and readings. Robert Dowling of Central Connecticut State University will moderate a talk-back.

5-6 p.m. Happy Hour, Thames Club

If you go

What: Eugene O'Neill 133rd Birthday

When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday

Where: Thames Club, 200 State St., New London

How much: $30, advance purchase requested at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eugene-oneills-133rd-birthday-tickets-175756752177

For more information: flocktheatre.org