#382: Death of a Salesman (Her Majesty's Theatre Melbourne, Australia) (Review)

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:05.759
Anthony LaPaglia and Alison White shine in
a superb rendition of one of the finest

2
00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:12.320
plays of the twentieth century, Arthur
Miller's Death of a Salesman before the promise

3
00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:18.640
Welcome to Theater First with Alex First. It won the nineteen forty nine Pulitzer

4
00:00:18.679 --> 00:00:22.559
Prize for Drama and the Tony Award
for Best Play in the same year.

5
00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:27.839
It's an incendory look at the American
dream, which relates to the opportunity for

6
00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:33.719
individual prosperity and success. The action
takes place in nineteen forties New York,

7
00:00:34.079 --> 00:00:40.240
with flashbacks two earlier times when still
in his mid teens, Willy Lohman LaPaglia

8
00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:44.880
started out as a salesman at age
sixty three. He remains on the road,

9
00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:50.880
covering thousands upon thousands of kilometers.
His territory is New England. He's

10
00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:55.719
tired and washed up. Willie was
once the pride of his company, fated

11
00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:00.000
by the current owner, Howard Wagner's
father Frank, who has since passed.

12
00:01:00.399 --> 00:01:04.840
Howard Wagner, played by Simon Maiden. Now working only on commission and seen

13
00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:10.840
by Howard as a liability, Willy
doesn't make enough to cover the household expenses.

14
00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:15.439
In fact, he has to turn
to his neighbor Charlie Steve Bastoni for

15
00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:19.760
regular handouts to pay his way.
Willie's wife, Linda Alison White, loves

16
00:01:19.840 --> 00:01:26.799
him dearly despite his grumbles and worries
of late. Willie's mind also appears to

17
00:01:26.840 --> 00:01:30.799
be going not aware of his lack
of standing with his boss. Linda urges

18
00:01:30.840 --> 00:01:36.480
Willie to ask Howard for an office
job to lighten his load. She and

19
00:01:36.519 --> 00:01:41.319
Willie have two adult children who are
temporarily staying with them, sharing their old

20
00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:46.400
room. Willie bemoans the fact that
the elder Biff Josh Hellman, has made

21
00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:51.319
nothing of himself. He's but a
transient farm hand earning little money, when

22
00:01:51.359 --> 00:01:56.159
his providence could have been so different. As a teenager, Biff was a

23
00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:01.840
football star destoned for a college scholarship
until he mats. Then his life started

24
00:02:01.840 --> 00:02:06.120
to unravel. He fell out with
Willie, whom he still loves, but

25
00:02:06.359 --> 00:02:12.080
whenever they talk they end up locking
horns. Willy's younger son, Happy Sean

26
00:02:12.199 --> 00:02:15.759
Keleenan, is a womanizer and a
big talker who has his eyes on a

27
00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:21.199
more prestigious job than he currently has. Truth be told. Despite pumping himself

28
00:02:21.319 --> 00:02:25.439
up. He's an assistant to the
assistant buyer at a local store. Happy

29
00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:29.639
would love to go into business with
his brother. They come up with a

30
00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:35.719
plan, with Biff determined to approach
a former employer for funding. As Willy's

31
00:02:35.759 --> 00:02:40.159
mental state continues to deteriorate, he
has increasing visions of his older brother Ben

32
00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:45.719
Richard Piper. The latter made a
fortune in Africa by the time he was

33
00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:51.439
twenty one, friendless and losing all
hope, Willy's final blow comes at Howard's

34
00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:57.039
hands, while the reception Biff receives
from his former employer is equally shattering.

35
00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:02.280
Anthony Lapadia's Australian stage debout could not
have been any more triumphant. In a

36
00:03:02.319 --> 00:03:08.680
demanding lead role, Lapaglia's gravelly voiced
representation of Willy Lohman is a master class

37
00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:15.120
of push and pull, nuance and
subtlety. Lohman is at times belligerent,

38
00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:21.400
obstinate, frustrated, enthusiastic and beaten. LaPaglia captures all with a plum.

39
00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:27.479
He metamorphosizes into a man whose fate
is sealed. White is dynamic and assured,

40
00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:30.280
as his devoted wife, conscious that
all is far from right, but

41
00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:36.400
desperate to keep things together to see
him through. Josh Hellman brings a sense

42
00:03:36.439 --> 00:03:40.680
of desperation to his role as an
unfulfilled thirty four year old laborer who could

43
00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:47.400
never live up to his father's expectations. Sean Keenan channels a smooth communicator without

44
00:03:47.479 --> 00:03:53.280
substance, whose life's station is hardly
what he represents it to be. Richard

45
00:03:53.319 --> 00:04:00.560
Piper imbues Willy Lohman's wealthy and successful
dead brother Ben with self importance. Ben

46
00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:06.319
has little time to listen to Willie's
overtures. Steve Bastoni infuses Willy's ongoing provider,

47
00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:12.199
Charlie, with warmth, humor,
and heart. Tom Stokes makes his

48
00:04:12.280 --> 00:04:17.720
mark by way of impressive sharp contrast
as Charlie's successful and measured son and hitherto

49
00:04:17.959 --> 00:04:25.000
as Biff's frenzied classmate and friend.
Simon Maiden gives Howard a pragmatic, if

50
00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:31.319
somewhat dismissive edges Willy's second generation boss
with no time for passengers. All cast

51
00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:36.560
members, including Elizabeth blackmore Manali D'tar, Louisa Mignon, and Grant Piro,

52
00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:43.240
performs strongly. There's no weak link
in this highly accomplished production. The single

53
00:04:43.319 --> 00:04:46.959
set, designed by Dale Ferguson,
is clever, evocative, and utilitarian.

54
00:04:47.199 --> 00:04:53.560
It represents seven rows of bleacher seats
at Ebbett's Field, with a coach's box

55
00:04:53.639 --> 00:04:58.120
at the top. The venue was
the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team

56
00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:03.160
until the nineteen fifties, five professional
football teams, including three NFL teams.

57
00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:10.360
Miller's script makes several references to Biff's
budding football career. The set also allows

58
00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:15.839
most actors to be seated on stage
for the entire show. The production values,

59
00:05:15.879 --> 00:05:20.199
including sound and lighting design, elevate
the spectacle. Direction from Neil Armfield,

60
00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:25.120
who worked with LaPaglia on the film, Holding the Man and the Resident

61
00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:29.879
Director to raise a Boorg is exemplary
for a play that's all but three hours,

62
00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:32.600
there's no let down. With few
props, the action moves along at

63
00:05:32.639 --> 00:05:39.120
pace. Its emotional residence endures,
all the more so given the current state

64
00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:42.759
of the world and how difficult it
is for many to make ends meet.

65
00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:47.160
A trip to Her Majesty's Theater to
see Death of a Salesman is well rewarded.

66
00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:53.519
It's playing in Melbourne until the fifteenth
of October twenty three. You've been

67
00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:59.879
listening to theater first with Alex First. Available at Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts,

68
00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.040
Spotify, iHeartRadio, or your favorite
podcast player. You can also stream

69
00:06:04.040 --> 00:06:10.399
on demand at bytes dot com.
This has been another quality podcast production from

70
00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:13.160
sites dot com.