Death of a Salesman has been hailed as the best American play. Ever. So the stakes are high for any production.
For the greatest American play, director Robert Hupp has assembled arguably the strongest cast ever on stage at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. They offer a master class in acting that is both explosive and restrained, both naturalistic and ethereal.
From the Loman family which dominates the stage throughout the play to the assorted other characters who drift in and out, these actors form a seamless unit to tell Arthur Miller’s story of dreams and desperation.
Robert Walden’s Willy Loman is rumpled, careworn and creased. His presence shows the wear and tear of every mile he has driven and every sales visit he has made. Walden’s Loman evokes sympathy and frustration. His eyes alternate between twinkling and deadness. Though the hero of the play, Walden is not noble – he honestly portrays the flaws that ultimately lead to the play’s climax and dénouement.
As Linda Loman, Willy’s wife, Carolyn Mignini leaves no doubt that she loves her husband. She is loyal and protective. Her smile is more a part of her armor than a talisman of emotion. Her eyes alternate between shimmering with affection, glowering with anger and sinking with disappointment. Mignini and Walden have great chemistry together ; they are comfortable with each other like a long married couple should be.
Avery Clark and Craig Maravich play the two Loman sons. Like their father, they are trapped in an earlier world and cannot truly face reality. As older boy Biff, Clark adds another fine portrayal to his appearances at the Rep. He is at turns deliberately spiteful and other times straining to break free of the past. Maravich makes a Rep debut on a high note as the aptly named Happy Loman. He is blissfully complicit in the family pastime of falsehoods. During flashback scenes, Clark and Maravich actually seem to have grown younger. They are so invested in their characters, they seem to have found a secret fountain of youth. They too have great chemistry with each other and with the actors playing their parents. This is truly a family unit.
Jay E. Raphael plays Charley, Loman’s neighbor and sometime confidant. At first he seems merely to be a likeable eccentric, an avuncular presence and foil for Loman. But toward the end he has two powerful scenes and pulls everything together from earlier appearances. As Charley’s son Bernard, Kevin Sebastian ably captures both the bookish youth and the successful attorney he becomes. As an adult, he seems to literally shrink with discomfort over the delusions in which the Lomans seem to abide.
As Willy’s brother Ben, William Metzo appears to have the most fun of any actors on stage. He exists only in Willy’s memory and imagination. He is both angel and devil on Willy’s shoulder. Metzo clearly relishes the chance to be an eccentric adventurer, storyteller and conscience for Willy.
Christopher Ryan plays Willy’s boss, the son of his former boss. His character is meant to be callous and unlikable, which Ryan captures. But in his portrayal, the character is not evil. He realizes that time has marched on and doesn’t seem to know how to relate to people like Willy who haven’t grasped it. In their brief moments, Joe Menino, Stephanie Gunderman, Rachael Small and Andi Watson offer fully-fleshed out characters who interact with and have impact on the Lomans.
Hupp’s direction is seamless. He keeps the action moving while trusting the actors, audience and script to allow for silence when it is needed. This is not a revolutionary staging, but it is also not a museum piece. Under Hupp’s leadership, this production approaches the play as if it were a new work. This lends a freshness and vitality to the production. It also adds to the timeless appeal of the period piece. Hupp directs the play with a loving and respectful touch, but with his own vision.
Mike Nichols’ set is an homage to Jo Mielziner’s iconic original Broadway set. But Nichols, being the master artist that he is, creates a set that is his own. On the Rep’s small stage, he creates not only the Loman’s cramped and comfortable post-World War I house, but also evokes the looming encroachment of post-World War II “progress.”
Rafael Castanara Colon’s costumes are spot-on. They are tailor made for characters, most of whom lived in an off-the-rack world. Lynda J. Kwallek’s props also help establish the time and place of the action. These very matter-of-fact representations combine with the evocative sound design of Allan Branson and lighting of Kenton Yeager to shift not only through time and space but also between the harsh reality of the Lomans’ world and the characters’ fantasies and reminiscences. Hupp commissioned a newly recorded version of Alex North’s original Broadway score which enhances the production.
The Arkansas Rep production of Death of a Salesman is not to be missed. Don’t let the fact that it is a drama dissuade you – Hupp and his cast have mined Miller’s text for many honestly humorous moments. This may be an “important” play which was taught in school – but it has many lessons to teach us about ourselves and others.
The play raises many questions and offers hints of answers, but no final solutions. In the end, two of the characters offer contradictory assessments of the life of Willy Loman. Both are right, but yet both are wrong. Walden’s performance and Hupp’s direction play no favorites with these competing views. They leave it to the audience to ponder. This is a production which will stay with audience members long after they have left the theatre.
Death of a Salesman runs through May 12 at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. To borrow a line from the play “Attention must be paid.” While there are no answers which are “free and clear” (to borrow another line), it is a journey well worth taking for audiences and the actors.
A regional theatre premiere at Arkansas Rep, Memphis is a new musical with music and lyrics by David Bryan of Bon Jovi fame and lyrics and book by Joe DiPietro loosely based on Memphis disc jockey Dewey Phillips, one of the first white DJs to play black music in the 1950s.
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