Those audible gasps you may have heard from your nearest theatre-lover yesterday were likely because of news that Philip Seymour Hoffman and Mike Nichols confirmed they're teaming up to bring Broadway its fourth revival of Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman in the fall of 2011.
But the gasps may have been further induced by something beyond just that simple announcement. Countless tweets in the twitterverse were incredulous about Hoffman's casting, saying he is too young to play Willy Loman, the titular salesman.
Nonesense, I immediately retorted. Hoffman is an actor who is wise beyond his years, and to be honest, has an appearance that can easily belie his 43 years. And just as fast as I could say that, my friend with the encyclopedic mind -- the ever resourceful Kevin Daly of Theatre Aficionado At Large -- quickly pointed out that the legendary Lee J. Cobb was a mere 37 years when he created the iconic role in the first Broadway production in 1949.
While Cobb didn't even receive a Tony nod for his Willy, that premiere production would sweep Tonys in each of the six categories for which it was nominated. First opening at Broadway's Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949, Death Of A Salesman would win Tonys for Best Play, Best Author (Arthur Miller), Best Director (Elia Kazan), Best Featured Actor (Arthur Kennedy), Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner) and Best Producers (Kermit Bloomgarden and Walter Fried). Perhaps even more prestigious was that the production -- which closed November 18, 1950 after 742 performances -- was honored with the 1949 Pulitzer Prize.
Little wonder this is among Miller's most revered works. And little wonder that so many other great actors hold out no greater hope than to sink their enterprising teeth into Willy Loman.
Yet surprisingly, the first Broadway revival didn't come for another 25 years when George C. Scott took on the role at age 47. With Scott also directing, Death Of A Salesman opened at the Circle in the Square Theatre on June 26, 1975. Although the cast included James Farentino as Biff and Harvey Keitel as Happy, the production would earn exactly one Tony nomination: for Scott's acting. The production closed after 71 performances.
The second revival came about just nine years later, opening at the Broadhurst Theatre on March 29, 1984. A then 46 year old Dustin Hoffman portrayed Willy alongside John Malkovich as Biff and Stephen Lang as Happy. The revival would earn the Tony for Best Reproduction. While it closed on July 1, 1984, after only 97 performances, the production would enjoy a return engagement at the Broadhurst for another 88 performances (September 14-November 18, 1984).
Perhaps the reason why so many think that Willy Loman is a man closing in on the twilight of his years is because of the last exceptional actor to make the role his own, Brian Dennehy. When the last Broadway revival of Death Of A Salesman was mounted by Robert Falls in 1999, Dennehy was already 60. But that didn't stop the theatre world from showering his performance with praise and accolades. Dennehy would win both the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his portrayal.
That Death Of A Salesman first opened at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on February 22, 1999. Packing a punch at the box office, the revival would enjoy 274 performances before closing on November 7, 1999. Its cast included Kevin Anderson as Biff, Ted Koch as Happy, Elizabeth Franz as Linda, Howard Witt as Charlie, and also Kate Buddeke (The Woman). All totaled, the revival earned six Tony nominations and scored wins for Best Revival, Falls, Franz and Dennehy.
Since that landmark production has become the gold standard by which most contemporary audiences judge Miller's play, it stands to reason that many can't conceive of Philip Seymour Hoffman as Willy Loman. Also, considering that Death Of A Salesman will herald Hoffman's first time back on Broadway's boards since earning a Tony nod for his effective portrayal as Brian Dennehy's son, James Tyrone, Jr. in 2003's Long Day's Journey Into Night, and it's no wonder the theatre world was gasping.
Of course, since that appearance, Hoffman has gone on to win an Academy Award for his breathtaking work as Truman Capote. I have little doubt he'll do just fine with Willy Loman.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: Arthur Miller, Brian Dennehy, Broadway, Death Of A Salesman, First Word On New Show, George C. Scott, Lee J. Cobb, Mike Nichols, Philip Seymour Hoffmann, Play, Revival
A View From The Bridge (The SOB Review) – Cort Theatre, New York City, New York
**1/2 (out of ****)A view from a bridge can deceive the eyes. It can be akin to admiring a
Monet from afar.
The elements for a masterpiece may all be there. But when examining them up close, the effect can be downright confounding as they are not necessarily what they seem. What had seemed like flowing images can suddenly become jarring and disparate.
Such is the case, on more than one count, with the respectable, yet oddly distant new Broadway revival of
Arthur Miller’s classic
A View From The Bridge, which opened Sunday evening at the
Cort Theatre. From a distance, all the elements are there that make it abound with promise.
For starters, estimable director
Gregory Mosher is at the helm. Rather than resort to the histrionics employed by
Simon McBurney in last year’s overwrought Miller revival of
All My Sons, Mosher wisely opts for a more authentic and natural approach.
John Lee Beatty's scenic design effectively evokes the Brooklyn neighborhood filled with Italian immigrants, and
Peter Kaczorowski’s moody lighting appropriately haunts the play, serving as a harbinger of the portentous tragedy.
Additionally, this revival boasts an unusually competent cast.
As Italian-American Eddie Carbone, the ever-formidable
Liev Schreiber portrays a tough 50s-era longshoreman, who demands respect first and foremost. As Eddie’s wife Beatrice, the impressive
Jessica Hecht once again loses herself in yet another New York City neighborhood role (she’s fresh off the closed-too-soon revival of
Brighton Beach Memoirs and this production is fortunate to have her).
A View From The Bridge also marks the impressive Broadway debut for film actress
Scarlett Johannson as Catherine, the demure, yet blossoming teenage daughter of Eddie’s deceased sister. And
Michael Cristofer effectively portrays the play’s one-man Greek chorus, albeit as Italian immigtant attorney Alfieri, with whom Eddie seeks counsel.
Then there’s the story itself, which on the surface appears to center on Eddie, a seemingly gracious man who had not only promised his dying sister he’d look after her only daughter, but also has clandestinely arranged to have his wife Bea’s Italian cousins smuggled into the country, providing them sanctuary and security.
But as with other Miller plays, upon closer examination -- and it's important to note that the playwright initially called this work "An Italian Tragedy" -- it soon becomes clear that an ominous undercurrent is threatening. (During my performance, it seemed as though a musical underscore had begun to swell right from the start, spelling impending doom. As the strange buzzing sound never abated, it became apparent that there was either something amiss with
Scott Lehrer’s sound design or there was some other annoyance backstage detracting from the play.)
The abstract Miller has painted in
A View From The Bridge is further hued with none too subtle shades of incest, as Eddie’s protection of Catherine becomes untenable, and homosexuality, as Eddie suggests that Bea’s cousins “ain’t right,” even as one of them -- Rodolpho (
Morgan Spector) is threatening his grasp on Catherine. Heady themes to be sure, particularly considering they were much too controversial to be vividly painted by name at the time the play was originally produced.
Yet, somehow, even with all these essential elements present on the canvas,
A View From The Bridge fails to coalesce into a deeply satisfying motif. It never really came completely together, leaving me to wonder if Miller had really intended this work to be viewed from afar all along.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post.Labels: A View From The Bridge, Arthur Miller, Gregory Mosher, Jessica Hecht, Liev Schreiber, Michael Cristofer, Morgan Spector, Play, Revival, Scarlett Johansson
Liev And Let Scarlett: Live On BroadwayIn perhaps the most exciting Broadway casting news since last summer when
it was announced that
Daniel Craig would be opposite
Hugh Jackman in
A Steady Rain, came word yesterday that movie starlet
Scarlett Johansson would make her long-awaited Great White Way debut alongside
Liev Schreiber in the third Rialto revival of
Arthur Miller's
A View From the Bridge.
Directed by
Gregory Mosher,
A View From The Bridge will begin previews at the
Cort Theatre on December 28, 2009 and open January 24, 2010.
Internet Broadway Database (IBDB) offers this succinct description of Miller's play: "In the apartment and environment of Eddie Carbone, all in Red Hook, on the Bay seaward from Brooklyn Bridge."
A View From The Bridge was first produced on Broadway at the
Coronet Theatre in 1955. But it was a combination of two of Miller's one act plays,
A Memory Of Two Mondays and
A View From The Bridge. Helmed by
Martin Ritt, both plays starred such headliners as
Eileen Heckart,
Van Heflin and
Jack Warden. Earning two Tony nominations, the production would enjoy a 149 performance run until February 1956.
The
first revival (of the second play only) wouldn't come for nearly 30 years, but it would also run for 149 performances, this time at the
Ambassador Theatre where it opened February 3, 1983. Directed by
Arvin Brown, this
View From The Bridge would also earn two 1983 Tony Award nominations, including one for Best Reproduction (a precursor to the Revival honors now bestowed) and the other for
Tony Lo Bianco's portrayal of Eddie. The cast also included
Rose Gregorio as Beatrice and
Alan Feinstein as Marco.
The
last and arguably most successful mountingl to date came just 12 years ago. The 1998 Tony-winning Best Revival of a Play first opened at the non-profit
Criterion Center Stage Right where it ran from December 14, 1997 through February 22, 1998, before transferring to a commercial run at the
Neil Simon Theatre, where it reopened April 3, 1998 and ran through August 30 of the same year.
Michael Mayer directed a cast that included
Allison Janney as Beatrice,
Anthony LaPaglia as Eddie and
Adam Trese as Marco. While Mayer, Janney and LaPaglia would each receive Tony nominations for their efforts, only LaPaglia would win.
So is it too soon for yet another revival of Miller's classic? Well, in my humble opinion, any work that can bring Schreiber back to Broadway's boards is fine with me. He's only been absent since earning a Tony nod for
Talk Radio two years ago, but there are few finer living American stage actors.
And as for Miss Scarlett? Who wouldn't want to see her make her Broadway debut?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A View From The Bridge, Arthur Miller, Broadway, First Word On New Show, Liev Schreiber, Play, Revival, Scarlett Johansson
Did Critics Think Sons Offered Its All?Last evening, Broadway's second revival of of
Arthur Miller's
All My Sons opened at the
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Helmed by
Simon McBurney, the productions stars
John Lithgow,
Dianne Wiest,
Patrick Wilson and
Katie Holmes.
Most critics were taken with the high-concept approach offered by McBurney, with one notable exception.
Praising the show as a "striking new production,"
Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's
Daily News awards four out of five stars: "Lithgow is outstanding as the conflicted family man whose self-interest proves his undoing. He seems to evoke every stage of grief as Keller's life crumbles before him. As his devoted wife, Wiest marvelously conveys steel beneath Kate's soft-focus eyes and deep-set denial, while Wilson shows he's more than just apple-pie handsome in his highly emotional and physical performance in the shattering showdown. Holmes, a TV and film vet, makes a fine Broadway debut."
Heralding
All My Sons as "a commanding illustration of the power of theater and a searing drama,"
Variety's
David Rooney also praises: "McBurney acknowledges those diverse traditions as well as more experimental forms. He shows us the tricks and mechanics of theater, uses film devices like underscoring and projections to intensify drama or foster evocative connections, and coaxes layered interpretations from the actors that embrace grandiose, melodramatic theatricality on the surface while scratching away underneath to uncover the characters' wounded humanity in painfully real terms. There's no playing it safe here on any level, yet the complex approach feels organic -- every unconventional touch serves to break open the drama, not simply to embellish it. Some no doubt will find the treatment overwrought, but like it or not, this is far more interesting than another reverential remount."
Saying "This really shouldn't work, but it does,"
Newsday's
Linda Winer joins in the positive notices: "John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest are shattering as Joe and Kate Keller.... The real news, however, is the high-concept rethinking by director Simon McBurney. This should be a stylistic hodgepodge, but, miraculously, the fusion honors the Ibsen-inspired moral authority of early Miller, the distancing modern techniques of Brecht and the special effects of an old-time Hollywood melodrama. We are warned from the prologue, which Miller never wrote."
Citing McBurney's staging as "unexpectedly effective,"
Clive Barnes of
New York Post offers two and a half stars: "A starry cast has been assembled to yell their lungs out.... The fault lies not with them but with the play.... [T]oo much of the acting is two-dimensional, at best. Lithgow starts in a sunny, benign fashion, but eventually finds himself screeching alongside Holmes, looking tough under a glossy wig, and the all-American Wilson. In all of this emotional clutter, the finest performance comes from Wiest, a silent pool of grief in a most touching portrayal of woe."
Calling McBurney's work an "intriguing but disconnected interpretation,"
Ben Brantley of
The New York Times is a bit more incisive: "The preview performance I saw of this one left me stone cold, despite some electric moments from a very fine Mr. Lithgow and Mr. Wilson. The very different leading actresses -- the stage veteran Ms. Wiest and the neophyte Ms. Holmes, in her Broadway debut -- are sad casualties of Mr. McBurney’s high-concept approach.... Mostly this vaunting interpretation falls into that same limbo between intention and execution where so many of Miller’s baffled American souls find themselves."
After carefully reading each of these reviews, I must say that I've never agreed more with Ben Brantley than I have in his critique. You'll find my own SOB Review by clicking
here.
This limited run of
All My Sons is currently slated to close on January 11, 2009.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: All My Sons, Arthur Miller, Ben Brantley, Broadway, Critics' Capsule, Dianne Wiest, John Lithgow, Katie Holmes, Patrick Wilson, Play, Revival, Simon McBurney
All My Sons (The SOB Review) - Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, New York, NY** (out of ****)There's an insidious little secret in
Simon McBurney's revival of
Arthur Miller's
All My Sons.
No, it's not that Joe Keller (
John Lithgow) may or may not have purposely sold faulty plane parts to the U.S. military during World War II. Instead, it's that McBurney has layered on the histrionics so high that the brilliance of Miller's original script is largely obscured and only peeks through near the end.
All natural elements of surprise are removed, thanks in no small part to the sound design offered by
Christopher Shutt and
Carolyn Downing. Their underlying music betrays the production with its impending sense of doom.
With the staging itself, McBurney seems to be going for an
Our Town motif. Yet it screams small town theatricality (think "
Waiting For Guffman") or even satire. It's exacerbated whenever its female leads,
Dianne Wiest (as Joe's wife Kate) and
Katie Holmes (as Ann, the fiancée of Joe and Kate's MIA son), take to the stage.
Where the women reign supreme in the current revival of
The Seagull, it's the men of
All My Sons who are left to do the heavy lifting. Lithgow and
Patrick Wilson as the Kellers' son Chris offer affecting, nuanced performances. Sad to say, there's nothing subtle about Wiest's surprisingly over-the-top performance. As for Holmes, well, she's a decent enough actress, but when Ann should be demure, Holmes is full-throttled and stays in the same gear throughout.
All My Sons still ranks as one of my all-time favorite plays. Maybe someday, we'll have another chance to see a production that just lets the story unfold more naturally.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: All My Sons, Arthur Miller, Broadway, Dianne Wiest, John Lithgow, Katie Holmes, Patrick Wilson, Play, Revival, Simon McBurney, The SOB Review
Third Generation Sons Opening TonightThis evening, the third Broadway revival of of
Arthur Miller's seminal classic
All My Sons opens at the
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.
Directed by
Simon McBurney, this latest incarnation of the post-war play -- which
originally graced a Main Stem stage in 1947, just two years after the close of World War II -- stars
John Lithgow as Joe Keller,
Dianne Wiest as his wife Kate,
Patrick Wilson as their son Chris, and
Katie Holmes as the fiancée of their other son.
Will critics take to this latest retelling? Find out tomorrow as I provide a snapshot of their reviews in my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: All My Sons, Arthur Miller, Broadway, Dianne Wiest, John Lithgow, Katie Holmes, Opening Night, Patrick Wilson, Play, Revival, Simon McBurney
Broadway Preview: All My SonsThe way recent news reports have been dissecting the upcoming Broadway revival of
Arthur Miller's seminal classic
All My Sons, you could be forgiven for thinking this was
all about Mrs.
Tom Cruise. Seems tickets just aren't selling to average Joes the way ticket brokers anticipated.
Indeed,
Katie Holmes, who has to her credit earned such dubious honors as an MTV Movie Award and a
Razzie Award, is making her much discussed Broadway debut. Alas, she's no
Nicole Kidman.
But if you ask me, the real news in this
Simon McBurney-helmed revival is that three of the stage's brightest stars are taking on some of the meatiest roles in their careers.
Three-time Tony and four-time Emmy Award winner
John Lithgow is taking on the play's shamefully conflicted father Joe Keller. Try as this character might, he's hardly your average Joe. This will mark Lithgow's 20th Main Stem production. I've had the pleasure of seeing Lithgow in a number of roles that demonstrate his incredible range, including his Tony-winning turn as J.J. Hunsecker in the underappreciated dark musical
Sweet Smell Of Success (2002); as a detached husband named Edward opposite
Eileen Atkins' Alice in
The Retreat From Moscow (2003-04); and most recently in his Tony-nominated role as suave con man Lawrence opposite
Norbert Leo Butz's Tony-winning turn as Freddy in
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005-06).
Portraying Joe Keller's wife Kate will be two-time Oscar and one-time Emmy Award winning actress
Dianne Wiest, whom I last saw in
Estelle Parsons' 2003 Rialto revival of
Oscar Wilde's
Salome alongside
Al Pacino,
David Strathairn and
Marisa Tomei.
All My Sons serves as Wiest's eighth Great White Way production.
Finally, two-time Tony nominee
Patrick Wilson will assume the role of Joe and Kate's son Chris. I've seen Wilson tread the Broadway boards in both of his nominated roles: first as Jeff Lukowski in the Americanized musical version of
The Full Monty (2001) and then as Curly in the 2002 revival of
Oklahoma! All My Sons will be Wilson's fifth credit in a full-fledged Broadway production.
As for the play itself,
All My Sons ranks as my personal favorite Arthur Miller work, and certainly would be on my list of all-time favorite stage shows. In fact, when
All My Sons was first produced on Broadway sixty-one years ago, Miller won the Tony for Best Author. Helmed by
Elia Kazan (who would win the Tony for this work), that production starred
Ed Begley,
Arthur Kennedy and
Karl Malden. That incarnation would run for 328 performances.
The only other time
All My Sons was ever revived on Broadway was in 1987 at the
John Golden Theatre. Although it would only enjoy 31 regular performances, the production went on to score the Tony for Best Revival of a Play, while its star
Richard Kiley also earned a Tony nomination.
Previews for the new revival of
All My Sons begin on September 18 at the
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, with opening night scheduled for October 16. The limited run is slated to end January 11, 2009. Almost in spite of Katie Holmes, I'm making this revival a priority to see.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:Broadway Preview: A Man For All Seasons (July 3, 2008)
Broadway Preview: To Be Or Not To Be (July 2, 2008)
Broadway Preview: The Seagull (July 1, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Equus (June 30, 2008)
Broadway Preview: A Tale Of Two Cities (June 28, 2008)
Broadway Preview: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (June 25, 2008)
Broadway Preview: [title of show] (June 24, 2008)
Broadway: What's Next (June 20, 2008)
All My Sons Revival Bound For Broadway (September 7, 2007)
Redford Ready To Return For Right Role? (October 20, 2006)
Flashback: Best of 2002-03 (May 25, 2006)
Labels: All My Sons, Arthur Miller, Broadway, Dianne Wiest, John Lithgow, Katie Holmes, Patrick Wilson, Play, Revival, Simon McBurney
The Crucible (The SOB Review) - Downstairs Theatre, Steppenwolf, Chicago, IL*** (out of ****)"Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?"
Those thirteen unfortunate words, first uttered sixty years ago in 1947 by Congressman
J. Parnell Thomas -- chair of the House Un-American Activities Committee (which got its start in 1938) -- helped stoke the fire for one of the 20th Century's worst witch hunts in the United States. A rabid ultra-right wing Republican from New Jersey, Thomas launched the intensive investigation into who in Hollywood had any ties to the Communist Party, ultimately resulting in widespread blacklisting. Speaking out was unthinkable.
Three years later, a junior senator from Wisconsin named
Joseph McCarthy announced that he had the names of 205 individuals within the U.S. Department of State who were "known" members of the American Communist Party. Of course, those numbers kept changing, but no matter. Aided by a young
Roy Cohn, he exhibited an uncanny knack for whipping the American people into hysteria that their government had been infiltrated by Communists sympathetic to the Soviet Union. Out of the burgeoning Cold War,
McCarthyism was born.
The reckless Tailgunner Joe was out to make a name for himself while vilifying others. His crusade culminated in the infamous 1954
Army-McCarthy Hearings, during which
Joseph Welch, chief counsel for the U.S. Army finally erupted during questioning, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"
Since the Army-McCarthy Hearings were televised, Americans had one of their first unique opportunities to see their leaders exposed for what they were. Support for McCarthy rapidly dissipated, and by the end of the year,
he was censured by the Senate.
Before McCarthy's last act of desperation played out, three valiant acts made their
1953 debut on Broadway in
The Crucible --
Arthur Miller's classic, allegorical tale of how easily otherwise rational individuals in colonial Salem, Massachusetts would blindly accept a charlatan's testimony about practicing witchcraft. To characterize Miller's mid-century timing as brave would be an incredible understatement, but he certainly contributed to the national conversation in a profound and consequential way.
Now, as realized through
Anna D. Shapiro's fiery, "color-blind" casted production at Chicago's Steppenwolf, it's hard not to find the haunting recreation of the actual 1690s Salem witch hunts disturbing. Yet it's the discovery of layer after layer of allegories abounding that makes this morality play unusually fresh and modern.
Certainly first and foremost is the parallel that Miller intended with the hunt for Communists under every rock. But with the ruggedly righteous
James Vincent Meredith (above photo) portraying protagonist John Proctor, his subsequent lynching makes it hard not to wonder whether his casting wasn't really a deliberate decision on the part of Shapiro after all. And while the last week's headlines could not have been foreseen, the
hateful images out of Jena, Louisiana of hanging nooses made the parallels to today even more chilling.
As if that weren't all,
The Crucible's unelected official Deputy Governor John Danforth (a brilliantly subtle performance by
Francis Guinan) blithely states, "But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there is no road between." Suddenly, as if the other modern allegories weren't enough, Miller's words of moral absolutes effectively come back to bite a certain commander-in-chief, making this about as contemporary production as one could expect.
Overall, the cast is terrific. Special props must be given to
Alana Arenas (in the photo above) as the conflicted Susanna Wolcott,
Mary Seibel as stoic Rebecca Nurse and
Maury Cooper, who provides some of the performance's most welcome comic relief as Giles Corey.
If I have one quibble, and it's not insubstantial, it would be on how the supposed demons of the young would-be witches are manifested. With heartwrenching screams, essential dialogue is often obscured. To be quite frank, I strained to hear much of what was being said, a difficulty I had not previously experienced at this theatre.
Yet, Shapiro's fierce, take no prisoners mix in
The Crucible makes for a completely enthralling evening of live theatre.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Labels: Arthur Miller, Chicago, Freedom of Association, Freedom Of Speech, George W. Bush, J. Parnell Thomas, Jana 6, Joseph McCarthy, Play, Revival, Steppenwolf, The Crucible, The SOB Review
All My Sons Revival Bound For BroadwayOne of my personal all-time favorite plays will be revived on Broadway in the spring.
According to New York Post's Michael Riedel,
Arthur Miller's
All My Sons will return for only its second revival there, starring
John Lithgow as Joe Keller.
When last revived in 1987 at the
John Golden Theatre,
All My Sons earned the Tony for Best Revival of a Play, while
Richard Kiley received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Joe. The one and only revival was quite short-lived with only 31 regular performances.
All My Sons first appeared on the Great White Way all the way back in 1947 and had such luminaries as
Ed Begley,
Arthur Kennedy and
Karl Malden in its cast. Miller would win that year's Tony for Best Author, while notorious director
Elia Kazan would win for Best Director. All totaled, the first production would enjoy 328 performances.
When
Riedel last discussed a possible Broadway revival back in October, he mentioned
Robert Redford had been offered the lead, which he presumably turned down, or this is a different revival altogether. Now, Riedel's devoted his snarky comments to the
Vanity Fair exposé that Miller kept his Down syndrome child in an institution. No word on whether this is the same revival as the one mounted in London. Too bad.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: All My Sons, Arthur Miller, Broadway, First Word On New Show, John Lithgow, Play, Revival
