A modern American classic at
Lakewood Playhouse
Published in The News Tribune, March 3, 2016
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| From left, Happy (Gabe Hacker), Willy (Joseph Grant) and Biff (Tim Samland) in a scene from “Death of a Salesman” at Lakewood Playhouse. Photo by Tim Johnson |
Lakewood Playhouse brings to the
South Sound area the modern American classic “Death of a Salesman,” the
Pulitzer, Drama Circle and Tony Award-winning play by Arthur Miller directed
for the Lakewood Playhouse by James Venturini.
This emotionally wrought drama
is intense, heavy, and relatively long at three hours including intermission, a
length that was commonplace when first produced in 1949 but which many local audiences
consider agonizing. For me the time flew by. On the face of it heavy handed for
all the extreme emotions depicted, it is actually a nuanced investigation of
troubled psyches, a multi-layered tragedy, the 20th century
equivalent of “Hamlet.”
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| Joseph Grant as Willy Loman and Kathi Aleman as Linda. Photo by Tim Johnson |
“Death of a Salesman” is an
unflinching look at the American Dream during the mostly prosperous years
following World War II as seen through the lives of Willy Loman (Joseph Grant)
and his family. Willy is a traveling salesman who has never come close to
achieving the success he fools himself into believing is his due – earned
through the magic of a winning personality and shined shoes. Losing touch with
reality, and increasingly unable to distinguish between the past and present, Willy
is desperate to hang on to his increasingly dissatisfying and low-paying job.
Losing hope for himself, he hangs onto another dream, that his eldest son, Biff
(Tim Samland) will achieve the success he has never been able to reach. But
Biff, a failure in his own eyes and in the eyes of his family, does not share Willy’s
idea of the good life and is torn between wanting to honor his father and
wanting to strike out on his own. (Willy is incensed because Biff at 34 is
still “trying to find himself.”)
The writing might seem
overwrought and dated to some contemporary audience members, but it is gripping
and highly intelligent as only the best of drama can be. Blake York’s set
captures the feel of the times and perfectly sets up the way of life of the
Loman family with cheap furniture and old quilts on beds, a beat-up old
refrigerator, and rooms including two bedrooms, living room and kitchen
arranged on stage for easy access from scene to scene. Venturini has his actors
seamlessly go from room to room, to hotels and restaurants and even into the
past and into scenes that exist only in Willy’s imagination without any abrupt
or gimmicky changes in lighting or scenery. Placing the boys’ beds on a riser
and flying overhead roof beams is inspired set design.
The 1949 period costumes by
Rochelle-Ann Graham are spot on, and the lighting (uncredited) brings scenes to
life. Small touches like spotlighting Uncle Ben (Dave Hall), who exists only in
memory, served to remind the audience that Ben is long since dead.
The large cast includes old
favorites on Tacoma stages such as Grant and Kathi Aleman (who plays Willy’s
wife, Linda); newcomers to Lakewood Playhouse such as Samland and Jackie-Lyn
Villava-Cua in her first appearance in any play anywhere; and even assistant
stage manager, Kira Zink, who makes a delightful if small appearance in one
scene. It is an exciting and talented cast with Tony Award-worthy performances
by Grant, Samland and Aleman.
Most amazing among the various
performances – and not just from the actors playing principle roles – are the
huge changes they go through, becoming, believably, entirely different
characters. Aleman’s Linda goes from a meek and subservient housewife to an
explosive mother of hardheaded boys. Grant’s Willy is practically a chameleon
of change as he struggles with the here and now, memories and visions. Samland
plays Biff as a naïve and ridiculously hopeless teenager and as an angry and
disillusioned young man, and Charlie Stevens changes so dramatically it is
almost impossible to imagine the nerdy teenage Bernard and the successful
lawyer Bernard are one and the same person. Also shining brilliantly is Gabe
Hacker as Biff’s womanizing younger brother, Happy.
It seems community theater in
the South Sound has reached new heights. I’ve seen more excellent plays over
the past month than I can remember ever seeing in such a short period of time,
and “Death of a Salesman” takes its place at the top of the list.
Check Alec’s blog at
alecclayton.blogspot.com for reviews of other area theatrical productions.
WHAT: Death of a Salesman
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, through
March 13
WHERE: Lakewood Playhouse, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center
Blvd., Lakewood
TICKETS: $19-$25
INFORMATION: 253.588.0042, www.lakewoodplayhouse.org
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