Monday, March 26, 2012

Theater Review: Death of a Salesman

Classic Gets Fresh Treatment, Less Sympathy-Evoking Willy
By Lauren Yarger
Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer-Prize winner Death of a Salesman is resurrected all the time, but the current Broadway revival is a little different. Here, Philip Seymour Hoffman hits one out of the park as the brooding, gloomy Willy Loman who sadly comes to believe that his so-far worthless life might have some value after all – if he takes it and lets his family collect on his life insurance policy.

It’s a sad, haunting realization, played to the depths of a man’s despair by Hoffman. This is a fresh contrast to other productions where we sort of feel sorry for Willy. Directed by Mike Nichols, Hoffman’s Willy doesn’t get much sympathy from us, or from the family he has ill treated. There is some affection from Willy’s long-suffering, gullible wife, Linda (Linda Emond), who keeps the household running on her husband’s diminishing pay while fretting about her discovery that Willy is planning to end it all.

She turns to her sons, Biff (Andrew Garfield) and Hap (Finn Wittrock), but they aren’t much help. Biff, recently returned home, has been in and out of trouble ever since he missed a chance to make something of himself on a college football scholarship. That, it turns out, might just be the fault of the father whom he idolized.
Bragging about Biff’s every move, or making excuses for actions others don’t see as so grand, Willy urges his son to approach his former boss for a bigtime job, or at least for enough cash to make the boy’s dream of owning a ranch out west a reality. Hap, always in the shadow of his more popular, charismatic brother (Willy makes no attempt to hide his preference for Biff), spends his time orchestrating female conquests and trying to win some approval from his father who raised the boys to show prowess on the athletic field and little regard for women.

Charley (Bill Camp) tries to help out by giving Willy a weekly loan to take home as “pay” to Linda when his regular New England sales route dries up, but the salesman is too proud to work for his neighbor, whose geeky son Bernard (an engaging Fran Kranz) grew up to be more successful than either of the two Loman boys. Willy’s mental state keeps getting worse as he talks with people, like his long-gone brother Ben (John Glover), who struck gold in Alaska. Nice lighting (Brian McDevitt) and original music by Alex North help make the wonderful transitions from present to flashback.

Salesman definitely is worth seeing, for Hoffman’s performance alone. It’s nice to see an actor so strong in his portrayal of an unsympathetic character that he doesn’t feel the need to ask for sympathy. Scenic designer Jo Meielzner creates a depressing skeletal frame of a house overshadowed by gloomy apartment buildings that smartly depicts Willy’s depression.(Kudos also to the marketing team for releasing productions photos in black and white, further emphasizing the gloom).

The production does have some flaws, however. Emond, though sharing some great emotion, is too robust in personality to come across as a bullied woman constantly silenced by an uncaring husband. She's so strong, I kept expecting her to talk back, or even haul off and let him have it instead of demurring. Also, both sons give good performances, but oddly seem cast in the wrong roles. Garfield is more reserved and doesn’t have a physical build that puts us in mind of a football player; Wittrock is larger in size and in charisma, which we expect from Biff.

Meanwhile, the script itself is male heavy and depicts the women in it as subservient and valued only for their worth as sexual relief for the men. Contrary to Nichols' recent comments in the media that the central relationship in America is between father and son, I would argue that the husband-wife relationship is more important. The breakdown between Willy and Biff can be traced to the poor relationship between Willy and Linda.
Death of a Salesman runs at the Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th St., NYC. For tickets call 212-239-6200 or 800-432-7250.
Christians might also like to know:
-- Language
-- God’s name taken in vain
-- Suicide

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Gracewell Prodiuctions

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Our reviews are professional reviews written without a religious bias. At the end of them, you can find a listing of language, content or theological issues that Christians might want to know about when deciding which shows to see.

** Mature indicates that the show has posted an advisory because of content. Usually this means I would recommend no one under the age of 16 attend.

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

Theater Critic Lauren Yarger

My Bio

Lauren Yarger has written, directed and produced numerous shows and special events for both secular and Christian audiences. She co-wrote a Christian musical version of “A Christmas Carol” which played to sold-out audiences of over 3,000 in Vermont and was awarded the Vermont Bessie (theater and film awards) for “People’s Choice for Theatre.” She also has written two other dinner theaters, sketches for church services and devotions for Christian artists. Her play concept, "From Reel to Real: The Jennifer O'Neill Story" was presented as part of the League of professional Theatre Women's Julia's reading Room Series in New York. Shifting from reviewing to producing, Yarger owns Gracewell Productions, which produced the Table Reading Series at the Palace Theater in Waterbury, CT. She trained for three years in the Broadway League’s Producer Development Program, completed the Commercial Theater Institute's Producing Intensive and other training and produced a one-woman musical about Mary Magdalene that toured nationally and closed with an off-Broadway run. She was a Fellow at the National Critics Institute at the O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT. She wrote reviews of Broadway and Off-Broadway theater (the only ones you can find in the US with an added Christian perspective) at http://reflectionsinthelight.blogspot.com/.

She is editor of The Connecticut Arts Connection (http://ctarts.blogspot.com), an award-winning website featuring theater and arts news for the state. She was a contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. She previously served as theater reviewer for the Manchester Journal-Inquirer, Connecticut theater editor for CurtainUp.com and as Connecticut and New York reviewer for American Theater Web.

She is a Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter of the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is a former vice president and voting member of The Drama Desk.

She is a freelance writer and playwright (member Dramatists Guild of America). She is a member if the The Outer Critics Circle (producer of the annual awards ceremony) and a member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, serving as Co-Founder of the Connecticut Chapter. Yarger was a book reviewer for Publishers Weekly A former newspaper editor and graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism, Yarger also worked in arts management for the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and served for nine years as the Executive Director of Masterwork Productions, Inc. She lives with her husband in West Granby, CT. They have two adult children.

Copyright

All material is copyright 2008- 2022 by Lauren Yarger. Reviews and articles may not be reprinted without permission. Contact reflectionsinthelight@gmail.com

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Key to Content Notes:

God's name taken in vain -- means God or Jesus is used in dialogue without speaking directly to or about them.

Language -- means some curse words are used. "Minor" usually means the words are not too strong or that it only occurs once or twice throughout the show.

Strong Language -- means some of the more heavy duty curse words are used.

Nudity -- means a man or woman's backside, a man's lower front or a woman's front are revealed.

Scantily clad -- means actors' private areas are technically covered, but I can see a lot of them.

Sexual Language -- means the dialogue contains sexually explicit language but there's no action.

Sexual Activity -- means a man and woman are performing sexual acts.

Adultery -- Means a married man or woman is involved sexually with someone besides their spouse. If this is depicted with sexual acts on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Sex Outside of Marriage -- means a man and woman are involved sexually without being married. If this is depicted sexually on stage, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Homosexuality -- means this is in the show, but not physically depicted.

Homosexual activity -- means two persons of the same sex are embracing/kissing. If they do more than that, the list would include "sexual activity" as well.

Cross Dresser -- Means someone is dressing as the opposite sex. If they do more than that on stage the listing would include the corresponding "sexual activity" and/or "homosexual activity" as well.

Cross Gender -- A man is playing a female part or a woman is playing a man's part.

Suggestive Dancing -- means dancing contains sexually suggestive moves.

Derogatory (category added Fall 2012) Language or circumstances where women or people of a certain race are referred to or treated in a negative and demeaning manner.

Other content matters such as torture, suicide, or rape will be noted, with details revealed only as necessary in the review itself.

The term "throughout" added to any of the above means it happens many times throughout the show.

Reviewing Policy

I receive free seats to Broadway and Off-Broadway shows made available to all voting members of the Outer Critics Circle. Journalistically, I provide an unbiased review and am under no obligation to make positive statements. Sometimes shows do not make tickets available to reviewers. If these are shows my readers want to know about I will purchase a ticket. If a personal friend is involved in a production, I'll let you know, but it won't influence a review. If I feel there is a conflict, I won't review their portion of the production.

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