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The cast of Death of a Salesman at The Globe was, in a word, extraordinary.
There were a few rough patches, particularly the initial scene between the brothers Happy (Tyler Pierce) and Biff (Lucas Caleb Rooney). The scene is basically banter and small talk which presented a challenge to the actors. This is particularly the case when the material was once contemporary but is now dated.
As Biff, Lucas Caleb Rooney was well cast and delivered the role with a physical presence that supported the character’s past glory as a football player. Emotionally, his big scenes carried the honesty that the character demands. Every now and then he seemed uneasy with his movement but when the chips were down, Mr. Rooney broke our hearts as Biff finally finds the courage to tell the truth about himself and his father.
Tyler Pierce presented the role of Happy with charm and style. We tend to like Happy for most of the show until the climatic scenes where he proves himself to be the tragic heir of his father’s dishonesty. Mr. Pierce played this supporting role appropriately, which is to say, he supported the other actors on stage and kept Happy in the position of second child, which is where Arthur Miller placed him.
Linda Loman was played by Robin Moseley. Ms. Moseley was the perfect, deferring, somewhat dominated house wife. Linda is married to an illusion. She has no idea who her husband is. Even at his graveside she is still lost in the web of exaggerations that Willy has woven into a life. Ms. Moseley was able to find the humor in Linda but when Linda finally exerted herself, it took our breath away.
Willy Loman is a brilliantly written character and Jeffrey DeMunn is a brilliant actor. Willy is such a grotesque character that it should be easy to dislike him but Mr. DeMunn infused him with hope and energy until the very end. The legitimacy of Willy’s hopes and dreams is completely baseless but Mr. DeMunn always brought us back around by tapping into Willy’s enthusiasm. Near the end of the show, Willy is planting a vegetable garden in his back yard. As he indentifies the different veggies, he comes to lettuce. The way Willy said the word made me think, “Hmm. Willy really likes lettuce.” Lettuce is hardly a transcendent substance but Mr. DeMunn was able to tell us about Willy just by saying, “lettuce”.
The secondary roles were fairly consistent. One stand out was John Procaccino as Willy’s neighbor Charley. The scenes between Willy and Charley remind us of the way that men once interacted. There is nary a kind word exchanged between them but Willy admits that Charley is his only friend.
Jordan Baker also stood out as The Woman (Willy’s Mistress).
Director Pam MacKinnon used the space of the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre very well. “Theater in the Round” can be challenging but Ms. MacKinnon kept everything consistent. The entrances and exits were well thought out and gave us a firm grasp of where the drama was taking place.
The glory of this production is that none of the actors got in the way of Arthur Miller’s vision. The actors and director were facilitators for the audience and put the drama right in front of us.
As one teenager said after the show was over, “There wasn’t really a hidden meaning in that.”
The cast of Death of a Salesman at The Globe was, in a word, extraordinary.
There were a few rough patches, particularly the initial scene between the brothers Happy (Tyler Pierce) and Biff (Lucas Caleb Rooney). The scene is basically banter and small talk which presented a challenge to the actors. This is particularly the case when the material was once contemporary but is now dated.
As Biff, Lucas Caleb Rooney was well cast and delivered the role with a physical presence that supported the character’s past glory as a football player. Emotionally, his big scenes carried the honesty that the character demands. Every now and then he seemed uneasy with his movement but when the chips were down, Mr. Rooney broke our hearts as Biff finally finds the courage to tell the truth about himself and his father.
Tyler Pierce presented the role of Happy with charm and style. We tend to like Happy for most of the show until the climatic scenes where he proves himself to be the tragic heir of his father’s dishonesty. Mr. Pierce played this supporting role appropriately, which is to say, he supported the other actors on stage and kept Happy in the position of second child, which is where Arthur Miller placed him.
Linda Loman was played by Robin Moseley. Ms. Moseley was the perfect, deferring, somewhat dominated house wife. Linda is married to an illusion. She has no idea who her husband is. Even at his graveside she is still lost in the web of exaggerations that Willy has woven into a life. Ms. Moseley was able to find the humor in Linda but when Linda finally exerted herself, it took our breath away.
Willy Loman is a brilliantly written character and Jeffrey DeMunn is a brilliant actor. Willy is such a grotesque character that it should be easy to dislike him but Mr. DeMunn infused him with hope and energy until the very end. The legitimacy of Willy’s hopes and dreams is completely baseless but Mr. DeMunn always brought us back around by tapping into Willy’s enthusiasm. Near the end of the show, Willy is planting a vegetable garden in his back yard. As he indentifies the different veggies, he comes to lettuce. The way Willy said the word made me think, “Hmm. Willy really likes lettuce.” Lettuce is hardly a transcendent substance but Mr. DeMunn was able to tell us about Willy just by saying, “lettuce”.
The secondary roles were fairly consistent. One stand out was John Procaccino as Willy’s neighbor Charley. The scenes between Willy and Charley remind us of the way that men once interacted. There is nary a kind word exchanged between them but Willy admits that Charley is his only friend.
Jordan Baker also stood out as The Woman (Willy’s Mistress).
Director Pam MacKinnon used the space of the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre very well. “Theater in the Round” can be challenging but Ms. MacKinnon kept everything consistent. The entrances and exits were well thought out and gave us a firm grasp of where the drama was taking place.
The glory of this production is that none of the actors got in the way of Arthur Miller’s vision. The actors and director were facilitators for the audience and put the drama right in front of us.
As one teenager said after the show was over, “There wasn’t really a hidden meaning in that.”