However, changes in society and the economy in the last sixty years makes Willy Loman’s personal economic situation seem rather convoluted to the modern audience. An audience member can readily conclude that selling strictly on commission triggers his full-blown depression and even schizophrenia.Ĭraig Johnson directes a highly-talented ensemble that comes across in classic 1950s-style Arthur Miller. His tendency to idolize his older brother borders on delusional. His conversations with his wife exude anxiousness and pressured speech. The bravado he expresses when engaging his young sons definitely reveal an underlying depression. However, from the perspective of the present day, we can see the traces of his mental illness in the flashback scenes. In productions of earlier eras, these histrionics may have been interpreted simply as the “battle fatigue” suffered by an “on-the-road,” commission-dependent salesman.
As we watch his character escalate from self-pity to anxiety-ridden and then rage, we can clearly see the mental illness driving his behavior. Patrick Coyle gives an amazingly frenetic but coherent version of “the Salesman,” Willy Loman. The play by Arthur Miller retains the power to comment on the false promise of the American Dream and the message is delivered very effectively in a solid production at Yellow Tree. But as the performances progressed in the intimate black box theatre, I conceded that Willy Loman is still the American middle-class Everyman. He was, I told myself, the lead character in a play from the mid-twentieth century, not relevant to today’s society. I just turned sixty years’ old and I tried to convince myself I was not like Loman. I was taken aback in the first part of Death of a Salesman at Yellow Tree Theatre when Willy Loman said he was sixty. Events reach a peak in Yellow Tree Theatre. Photo by Justin Cox Photography.
0 kommentar(er)
