Lunastage - 2006 - 2007 Season

SALESMAN

Thursday, October 25, 2007
By THOM MOLYNEAUX
for The Montclair Times

The only argument we can have about Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” is whether it should be ranked as the greatest dramatic masterpiece in American theater or just one of the top three. It is, without question, an American classic and has been acknowledged as such since it opened on Broadway a full half-century ago.

Since that iconic production, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman, the play has become a stable (and a challenge) for theaters in America and around the world. Productions have been mounted throughout the United States and in England, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Japan, Australia, Canada, Spain, Germany, etc. There was even a notable production in China directed by the author.

Willy Loman has been re-created by some of our greatest actors: Paul Muni, Thomas Mitchell, Fredric March (in the movie), Luther Adler, Rod Steiger, George C. Scott, Hume Cronyn, Dustin Hoffman and Brian Dennehy. And now he is being played by Frankie Faison in a production directed by James Glossman at Luna Stage that is giving us a novel new look at this classic by imagining Miller’s all-white, all-American Loman family in the ’40s, as an Af-rican-American family in the Wonderbread America of the Eisenhower ’50s.

Frankie Faison, getting the chance to play a formidable role that under traditional casting, he would never be considered for, faces the complicated, daunting challenge of Willy Loman. He latches onto the soul of this proud, confused, towering character, connects with its power and vulnerability and drives, full throttle, to the play’s heartbreaking climax.

“Death of a Salesman” is Willie’s story; a traveling salesman who scratches out a living for his family, follows the precepts and philosophy of the American Dream, passes on the religion of “go-getter” capitalism to his sons and ends up, pretty much destroying himself and them.

Or, if you bring it down to an intimate human level, it is, as Miller said when he directed the production in China, “…really a love story between a man and his son, and in a crazy way, between both of them and America.”

Changing the family from white to black refreshes this classic, gives it a more contemporary feel and adds an ex-tra layer of humor and charm, while keeping the script’s integrity and power, intact. This production has more warmth and laughter than any I’ve ever seen.

Since Luna was committed to changing the ethnicity of Willie and his family without changing a word of Miller’s dialogue there are a few spots where concept and script don’t quite mesh. For instance, when Willie searches for reasons (or excuses) for his business failures, why doesn’t it ever occur to him that the problems of a black man selling a product in 1950s Boston might have something to do with racism. And would his lothario son, Happy, be that comfortable “hitting on” a white woman in a fancy restaurant in ’50s Manhattan, and would he really be encouraged by a white waiter?

It’s interesting to note that the ethnicity of the Lomans has been controversial from the beginning. Some felt that their dialogue, rhythms and history was “Jewish” and that Miller was “copping out” by not identifying them as such. But the popularity and sense of identity audiences around the world have felt with “Death of a Salesman” would seem to win the argument for the universality of the family. In fact, there was a production, early on, starring Kevin McCarthy and a cast of Irish-American actors that had the critics in Boston hailing “Death of a Salesman” as “a great Irish play.”

Well, for the next couple of weeks, there’s “a great Afro-American play” at Luna Stage. James Glossman has di-rected with a fluidity and effective theatricality using lights, (Richard Currie) sound, (evocatively designed by Vin Scelsa, musical score by Yusef Lateef) and the open set (Nora Chavooshian), to seamlessly move from past to present and bring us inside the tortured memories of Willie’s mind.

Glossman’s stellar cast is headed by the powerful performance of Faison, followed closely by Marylyne Afflack, who commands the stage with her strong, honest portrayal of his wife, Linda. As his sons, Brandon O’Neil Scott, makes a straightforward, believable Biff, and Jamal Marsh, a charming, earnest, and the most likable Happy I’ve ever seen.

The versatile Anthony Blahais practically a one-man supporting cast, etching distinctive portraits as the teenage and mature Bernard, Willie’s cold employer, Harold, and Stanley, the affable waiter. Reathel Beane is solid as Wil-lie’s white neighbor and friend, and the deep, mellifluously voiced Gerard Catus is a forceful presence as the mythical, authoritarian Ben. Chante Lewis and Leigh Poulos lend steady support in multiple roles, with Miss Lewis espe-cially effective as the woman in Willie’s room in Boston.

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