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.
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