Beautifully acted, Colonial Players take on slow-paced play

Playwright Eugene O'Neill was famous for mining the depths of human suffering. But if he really wanted to investigate the topic, he just should have sat through a performance of his own "A Moon for the Misbegotten."

The newest offering from Colonial Players in Annapolis features marvelous acting, but has a plot with a pacing that can best be compared to viewing the snail Olympics. There are entire sections that drag on and on, with no real action and no real character development.

After seeing literally hundreds of plays, I'm of the firm belief that if you can't accomplish your objective in 2½ hours, then it simply isn't worth...